Pioneering Business Set To Open Office In North West

Irwin Mitchell’s Corporate team has advised Praetura Ventures on its investment in pioneering healthcare start-up ScubaTx.

A spinout of Newcastle University, ScubaTx has developed new technology to support organ transplantation.

The firm, which is opening a new Greater Manchester office, has raised £1.5m in funding, including investment led by the GMC Life Sciences Fund by Praetura and grant funding from Innovate UK.

ScubaTx will use the investment to enhance its designs and develop its device, as it looks to obtain the permissions to sell its products worldwide, with a specific focus on the UK, USA and mainland Europe and an initial eye on pancreatic procedures for patients with diabetes.

Founded in 2020, ScubaTx is a pre-clinical company that has developed a prototype organ transportation device that extends the time that human organs are viable for, with the goal of transforming organ transplant procedures worldwide.

The device utilises technology called ‘persufflation’ to deliver advanced organ preservation, by cooling donated organs and oxygenating tissues with humidified gas at tightly controlled pressures and flow rates. The company is now finalising mechanical tests and expects to begin pre-clinical trials in the next few weeks and pivotal clinical trials in the next year.

The funding round was led by GMC Life Sciences Fund by Praetura, a venture capital fund which invests in early-stage businesses and SMEs to boost life sciences innovation, which is managed by Manchester-based Praetura Ventures. The fund is also supported by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Cheshire & Warrington LEP and Bruntwood SciTech.

Expert Opinion

“We are delighted to have advised Praetura Ventures on this exciting investment into ScubaTx. We look forward to seeing the progress that ScubaTx makes with the development of its technology, which has the potential to revolutionise organ transplantation and save countless lives.” Adam Kaucher, Corporate partner at Irwin Mitchell

Sim Singh-Landa, head of the GMC Life Sciences Fund by Praetura, said: “The strength of a fund like the GMC Life Sciences Fund by Praetura is that it enables the region to attract really inspiring businesses like ScubaTx, adding to the socio-economic prosperity of the local area and enabling the North West to continue cementing itself as a leader in life sciences. We can’t wait to work with the team and play a key role in their growth journey.”