Online investment platform SyndicateRoom has seen the first exit for a company that raised funds on its platform, following the acquisition of Oval Medical.
Oval, a medical technology company designing and producing auto-injectors to enhance medical safety and address trypanophobia (fear of needles), has been acquired by US-based healthcare contract manufacturer SMC.
Oval Medical raised GBP1,118,647 in August 2014, via the SyndicateRoom platform, with 40 SyndicateRoom investors contributing to this total. SMC is acquiring Oval to build on its existing business in the drug delivery device market, paving the way to grow and to develop further Oval’s core auto-injector technology.
Oval was set up in 2009 by Matthew Young, the company’s chief technology officer, who from his experience with autoinjectors at Team Consulting had a vision of designing state-of-the-art auto-injectors, which would transform the patient experience and meet the needs of 21st century biologic drugs, offering a range of delivery volumes and capability to delivery high viscosity formulations.
Oval’s Epinephrine auto-injector is a very small device for treating patients for anaphylactic shock, while Oval’s Sumatriptan is being developed to treat patients with migraines and cluster headaches. A number of independent user studies have demonstrated that patients can use Oval’s devices without training and their small size makes them discrete to carry.
“Pharmaceutical companies require reliable customised devices for their high value biologics,” says Barbara Lead, CEO, Oval Medical Technologies. “As part of SMC, Oval will be well placed to provide customers with devices that meet their needs and those of their patients. The combination of Oval’s design and development capability and SMC’s capabilities in global manufacturing, will ensure a high level of reliability in product performance and a fast route to market. These capabilities are also important for the acceleration of the development of our innovative Epinephrine combination product. This small innovative, and reliable design is favoured by patients who need to carry these potentially lifesaving products at all times.”
Chetan Patel, CEO of SMC, says: “We are excited to have Oval Medical Technologies within the SMC family. SMC ‘s years of experience in medical device contract manufacturing paired with Oval’s innovative approach to drug delivery combination products creates a complete solution for the pharmaceutical market. In addition to autoinjectors, the Oval team brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the design, development and manufacturing of inhalation products.”
“This is an incredibly proud moment for SyndicateRoom and fantastic news for the investors who chose to buy into Oval two years ago when it raised through the platform,” says Gonçalo de Vasconcelos, CEO, SyndicateRoom. “It also proves that our unique investor-led model, where all SyndicateRoom investors had access to the same class of share and the same price per share as the lead investors, are enjoying the rewards of this acquisition fairly.”
