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Tech transfer partnership between universities creates company to transform care for millions of women

Amber Therapeutics (Tx), a start-up involving the University of Oxford, has just completed a $100 million Series A funding round from healthcare and technology investors in the US and UK to develop treatment for mixed urinary incontinence.

Two researchers female and male checking something in a lab. There is a microscope and different equipment and tools © iStoc

The latest financing – one of the largest Series A rounds ever in Europe for a medical technology company – was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) as part of a syndicate of new investors F-Prime Capital, Lightstone Ventures, and Intuitive Ventures, alongside existing investors Oxford Science Enterprises and 8VC.

Co-founders of the company include Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), the University of Antwerp, and Antwerp University Hospital, with support provided by Oxford University Innovation (OUI) throughout the process.

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a serious condition that affects millions of women worldwide. Many of these women suffer from both urge incontinence (sudden, uncontrollable leaks) and stress incontinence (leaks during physical activity). Currently, there is no single treatment that addresses both types of these mixed urinary incontinence (MUI) symptoms.

Amber-UI is the first implantable therapy for MUI that is designed to stimulate the pudendal nerve through a new, minimally invasive procedure. The raised funding will be used to support Amber-UI’s development and clinical trials as it seeks approval in the US.

 

Read the full story on the University of Oxford website.

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