£4m spin-out has health focus

A University spin-out has attracted a £4 million investment from leading life science venture capital fund Epidarex Capital.

Edinburgh Molecular Imaging (EMI) is developing pioneering imaging technology to help diagnose and monitor major diseases.

The current focus is on lung conditions, such as cancer, and fibrosis, but eventually the company will target a wide range of diseases.

Fast and accurate diagnosis

The aim is to address the problem of late diagnosis, which has a major impact on a patient’s chances of survival. The technology is designed to detect changes that occur in the initial stages of a disease, giving doctors a fast and accurate diagnosis.

In the case of lung cancer, more than 41,000 people are diagnosed each year in the UK. Late diagnosis is considered a key contributing factor to the poor survival rates of this disease.

We believe this technology has the potential to facilitate major changes in the diagnostic medical imaging market, particularly for diseases with low survival rates and where current diagnostic tools are failing to improve patient outcomes. We are looking forward to working closely with the EMI team to take this product into the global healthcare market.

University roots

Edinburgh Molecular Imaging is based at Edinburgh Bioquarter. The company was formed in 2011 to build on world class research by its three University founders: Professors Mark Bradley and Chris Haslett and Dr Kev Dhaliwal.

This investment from Epidarex Capital heralds an important landmark in the journey of taking our concepts and research from the bench to the bedside and ultimately to improve patient care.