Listed private equity and infrastructure investment manager Foresight Group, has made a GBP1.5 million follow-on investment in portfolio company Biotherapy Services Ltd (BTS), a pharmaceutical biotech company.
The funds will be used to support the clinical development of RAPIDTM Biodynamic Haematogel, currently in phase 2b/3 clinical trials in the treatment of DFUs.
Based in Windsor, BTS was co-founded in 2013, specialising in autologous regenerative techniques. It has developed a wound care treatment with published results in healing severe DFUs, resulting in 13 of 15 patients (86.7 per cent) at high risk of limb loss avoiding amputation2. Originally marketed as a medical device, the treatment has since been reclassified by the UK’s regulatory body, the MHRA, as a medicinal product. It now requires the appropriate clinical trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy, and progress to market authorisation.
Diabetes affects 3.7m people across the UK, one in four of whom will suffer a DFU. Currently this results in 169,000 DFUs being treated annually by the NHS. Chronic ulcers, defined as those which do not resolve in 12 weeks, go on to cause 11,000 amputations per annum, and cost the NHS £935m in 2017 alone. Diabetes accounts for 10 per cent of the entire NHS budget and this is forecast to increase as the number of diabetes sufferers in the UK grows to 5.1m by 2025, up c.38 per cent and it’s hoped this treatment will help address the significant quality of life impact that a DFU can have on diabetic patients’ lives.
The Company has recently been awarded an Innovation Passport by the authorising bodies including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), under their recently launched Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (“ILAP”) scheme1. This was granted in recognition of the high unmet clinical needs of patients affected by DFUs, with compelling early phase data to indicate potential benefit of RAPID Biodynamic Haematogel to patients.
BTS is broadening its clinical development into other areas which would benefit from similar technology such as patients impacted by non-healing wounds (pressure ulcers, deep sternal wounds, post-operative wounds and palliative care). This is an area of high unmet clinical need and currently represents a market worth over GBP5.6 billion in the UK3. Longer term, the Company is planning to expand its technology and expertise across diverse clinical areas such as hair re-growth, scar reduction and prophylaxis of wound infection for high risk procedures.
John Chiplin, Chairman of Biotherapy Services says: ” We are delighted to continue to receive the support of Foresight, which has enabled Biotherapy Services Ltd to develop and continue to commercialise a range of therapies that will be truly therapeutically disruptive in improving the lives of patients living with chronic wounds and reducing the burden on both the NHS and globally”.
Nick Mettyear, Investment Manager at Foresight, adds: “The recent Innovation Passport award for RAPIDTM Gel is a significant step forward in the Company’s journey to offering a new treatment option for DFU, a debilitating and costly condition. Foresight is excited to continue to support a truly revolutionary approach to the problem of chronic non-healing wounds.”
Foresight is one of the most active investors in SMEs in the UK, with flexible capital to fund companies in any sector through a wide range of transactions and growth stages. With seven offices across the UK, the Foresight team works closely with entrepreneurs and management teams, an approach that has delivered strong returns to investors for over 35 years.
