UK-based Altair Medical has secured £2.25 million of pre-Series A funding to further develop its respiratory sensor and real-time monitoring platform. The service uses AI to detect and alert to adverse events from a range of breathing problems, with the hope of preventing early deaths.
The company is developing a wearable sensor that aims to radically improve patient outcomes in numerous clinical situations. It is one of the smallest available biosensors and transmits data to a cloud platform using a data hub or smartphone. Alerting the patient, their household members, doctor, nurse or emergency services where life-threatening changes occur, Altair’s technology will be able to monitor very large numbers of patients in any location simultaneously.
Altair’s CEO, Dr Bruce Henderson, said: “From my work as a forensic medical examiner I witnessed a large number of preventable deaths from patients with respiratory conditions. This inspired me to build up a team of specialists to develop the technology, which is now undergoing clinical trials in a range of respiratory conditions.
“We see huge potential for our device across a wide range of patients. We are delighted to have secured the backing of a syndicate of investors, which allows us to further prove the device and launch it in the UK, US and other countries in the near future.”
Altair’s original funding target has been significantly oversubscribed, a sign of confidence by its backers in the potential of the technology. This confidence was further boosted by Altair being awarded Breakthrough Medical Device designation from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA).
Altair’s investor syndicate was led by Alba Equity and includes Equity Gap, Intuitive Investment Group plc (IIG), London and Scottish Investment Partners and Scottish Enterprise.
John Duncan of Alba Equity said: “We are delighted to support Altair with this investment, alongside a strong syndicate of investor groups. Altair are developing technology which is already demonstrating its potential to help save lives in ongoing clinical trials and this investment will allow the company to bring this to the market, offering significant benefits to a large number of patients.”
Dr Stewart White of IIG, who will be taking a seat on the Board, added: “IIG is a fund focussing on high potential life science business, so Altair Medical fits perfectly with our investment criteria.
“The Altair technology, which is undergoing patent approval in the US and UK, has various unique properties that make it attractive for use in respiratory health applications and we’re excited to fund its development.”
Recognised as an early-stage company with high growth potential, Altair Medical has been supported by Scottish Enterprise’s High Growth ventures team. With the device’s global market opportunity estimated at $8 billion, the company is confident that with investment and support, its unique technology will secure a strong market share and improve the medical outcomes of thousands of people globally. Funding will be used to validate the performance characteristics of the technology prior to applying for Class 2 Medical Device regulatory clearance.
Altair Medical was advised throughout by Ascendant Corporate Finance and DCS Legal. The investor syndicate was advised by Wright, Johnston & Mackenzie.
