North West Fund for Biomedical makes first investment in Liverpool start-up

9 September 2011

The North West Fund has made its first investment in telemedicine, in Merseyside start-up company Med ePad.

 Med ePad, which is based in Liverpool Science Park, has secured a £50,000 Pathfinder Investment.

The North West Fund for Biomedical is a £25m sub-fund of the £185m evergreen The North West Fund that is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), and run by early-stage venture capital firm SPARK Impact.

Med ePad has developed a cost-effective interactive touchscreen mobile internet device for healthcare service providers, aimed at improving the efficiency of treatment and empowering patients to better manage their self-care.

The 7-inch tablet is pre-loaded with condition-specific apps created in conjunction with NHS healthcare professionals. Functions include the ability to record medication regimes and daily living patterns, send appointment reminders, conduct online consultations and access specific information relating to a particular condition, and where appropriate in the language of the patients choice.

There are around 15 million long-term condition sufferers in the UK. Med ePad would be a huge benefit for many of them by assisting in the delivery of better patient care and outcomes, as well as increasing productivity and reducing waste and resource at a time of austerity within the Health Service.

Rob Connell, Med ePad founder and chief technical officer, said: “I am very grateful to SPARK Impact for both their £50k investment and believing in Med ePad and I am looking forward to being able to develop a range of efficiency and patient benefiting applications, and can’t wait to see them being used in real trials on the Med ePad across the region.”

Dr Penny Attridge, Senior Investment Director at SPARK Impact and manager of The North West Fund for Biomedical, said: “We are very excited to be investing in the telemedicine space with Med ePad. This is a sector we feel is ripe for growth and expansion. The adoption of digital, wireless and handheld devices to improve communication and efficiency is really only in its infancy; but we hope Med ePad can help to change this.”