52North secures $6M with landmark UK-US hospital VC deal

52North, the med-tech company focused on transforming urgent care pathways in oncology, has announced the close of a major funding round, co-led by KHP Ventures, affiliated with King’s Health Partners in London, and Cedars-Sinai Intellectual Property Co. in California, affiliated with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, one of the largest nonprofit academic medical centres in the US, as well as a $1.5 million grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The deal marks the first instance of an investment being co-led by leading hospital ventures funds from both the UK and the US, underlining 52North’s positioning as a healthcare innovator for global impact. The company’s low-cost and accessible solutions, co-created with patients and clinicians, aim to improve patient outcomes and health equity, while also alleviating pressures on healthcare systems.

The funding will enable 52North to advance its products towards market, including the flagship Neutrocheck®, which was granted breakthrough status by the UK Government under its pilot Innovative Devices Access Pathway earlier this year. The point-of-care medical device and app is aimed for use by patients with cancer outside of hospital to monitor their risk of neutropenia or neutropenic sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication of chemotherapy. In addition, the funding will enable products to progress through the company’s AsterTM platform, remotely measuring cells at low-cost, including in collaboration with strategic pharmaceutical partners, and will support 52North’s roll out of ACORNTM, supported by NIHR, an AI-driven digital platform designed to enable safer delivery of acute oncology care.

This milestone brings total funding for 52North, the University of Cambridge-linked med-tech company, to $10M.

This round was led by KHP Ventures and Cedars-Sinai Intellectual Property Co., the round includes significant contributions from OKG Capital, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Cancer Research Horizons, Macmillan Cancer Support, and selected high value-add angels including biotech entrepreneur Jonathan Milner and former CEO of Roche Diagnostics Roland Diggelmann.

Umaima Ahmad, CEO of 52North, continues,

“The commitment from both KHP Ventures and Cedars-Sinai exemplifies the belief in our vision and the value of our solutions.”

The collaboration between KHP Ventures and Cedars-Sinai Intellectual Property Co (CSIP) underscores a new era in transatlantic partnerships for med-tech innovation. This cross-border commitment exemplifies the investment ecosystem’s growing alignment with healthcare providers to support technologies that address complex clinical needs.

Tim Irish, Chair of KHP Ventures, added,

“Our partnership with Cedars-Sinai reflects our shared mission to invest in and support companies that have the potential to revolutionise healthcare delivery on a global scale. We are proud to continue backing 52North as they continue to develop solutions that empower both patients and clinicians.”

Nirdesh Gupta, Managing Director of Cedars Sinai Technology Ventures, commented,

“Cedars-Sinai is dedicated to advancing technologies that improve patient care and drive transformative solutions across healthcare. 52North’s commitment to innovating in oncology care is inspiring, and we are thrilled to support their journey alongside KHP Ventures.”

David Lawson, Director of Medical Technology and Innovation, Department of Health and Social Care in the UK Government, added,

“Through initiatives such as the Innovative Device Access Pathway (IDAP), the UK’s Medical Technology Strategy is focused on enabling novel technologies to improve the lives of patients, whilst supporting the growth of high-potential UK companies. The growth of companies such as 52North is a prime example of this.”

Karim Galzahr, Managing Partner, OKG Capital, commented,

“Neutrocheck® and the ACORN platform are precisely the kind of breakthrough technologies that can revolutionise patient care and streamline healthcare delivery, addressing a critical need across Europe and the US. As specialist diagnostics and life science investors, we are proud to support 52North in bringing these game-changing solutions to market.”

Tanya Humphreys, Head of Impact Investments for Macmillan Cancer Support, added,

“Macmillan is committed to doing whatever it takes to ensure that people living with cancer get the best possible care today, while investing in groundbreaking new innovations that can help to transform cancer care for the future. We are thrilled to continue our partnership with 52North as part of this. Their pioneering work with Neutrocheck has immense potential to give people with cancer greater control over their lives during chemotherapy treatment, while reducing pressures on the NHS at the same time. The development of ACORN also further demonstrates 52North’s commitment to transforming cancer care, and it is fantastic to be investing alongside others with a collective mission of improving outcomes for people living with cancer and enabling more efficient healthcare, both now and in the future.”

Phil Masterson, Associate Director of Ventures, Cancer Research Horizons, said,

“52North is improving urgent pathways in oncology care with innovative, cost-effective medical devices like Neutrocheck®. Neutrocheck is designed to help doctors more effectively identify patients at risk of neutropenic sepsis – a serious side-effect of chemotherapy. This is a valuable opportunity for us to invest in impact and bring healthcare closer to patients, on a global basis.”

Dr Amanda Wooding, Deputy Head of Ventures, Cambridge Enterprise, commented,

“We are delighted to continue to support 52North on their journey and to participate in this important round. Their innovative approach has the potential to significantly improve greatly improve urgent care pathways, streamline healthcare delivery, and make a real difference to chemotherapy patient outcomes globally.”

Prof Tony Young, National Clinical Lead for Innovation at NHS England, said,

“There is a huge opportunity for emerging technologies such as 52North’s to support the NHS’s shifts to prevention and personalised care, and to help boost productivity. The Innovative Device Access Pathway pilot aims to speed up the development of transformative medical devices and today’s announcement is another positive step towards ensuring NHS patients can access the best new treatments faster.”

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Image credits: 52North