Closed Loop Medicine closes £13m to finance its personalised drug plus digital therapy (DTx) combination products

Closed Loop Medicine has closed £13 million GBP (c. $17million USD) of new investment from a range of top UK and European venture capital investors. The money has been raised to finance its personalised drug plus digital therapy (DTx) combination products which are being developed to improve outcomes for patients and clinicians through precision dosing.

• Round led by Ananda Impact Ventures and BGF, joined by a strong syndicate of investors including LifeArc, Longwall, Meltwind, IQ Capital, Downing Ventures and Cambridge Angels.
• The financing was oversubscribed
• Investment will fund further platform and product development

Closed Loop Medicine (the “Company”), the global leader in the development of single prescription drug plus digital therapy (DTx) combination products to enable precision dosing, today announces the close of its £13 million financing.

This new investment brings the total raised by the Company to over £22 million (c. £$30 million) since it was founded. The round was led by the UK’s leading growth capital investor, BGF and one of Europe’s top impact investors, Ananda Impact Ventures.

The syndicate includes leading life science medical research charity LifeArc, with Meltwind and Downing Ventures also joining as new investors alongside IQ Capital, Cambridge Angels and Longwall Venture Partners. Clare Terlouw, Head of LifeArc Ventures joins the Closed Loop Medicine Board.

Closed Loop Medicine has established a proprietary platform for the creation of drug plus digital combination products, the next generation of patient centric pharmaceuticals. The company has two products in clinical development to treat insomnia and hypertension and a pipeline of future combination products in other therapeutic areas. This financing will accelerate the development, registration and commercialization of its platform and precision dosing products.

Hakim Yadi, CEO and co-founder at Closed Loop Medicine, said: ‘‘We are delighted to have the support of such highly respected investors working alongside us to move forwards with our work on improving patient outcomes. We are also very pleased to welcome the experience and insight of LifeArc’s Clare Terlouw to our Board.”

“This financing enables Closed Loop Medicine to take the next step towards creating a new standard for the future of care for patients with long term conditions. Until now, precision medicine has only been applied to a handful of medical conditions. However, the ability to combine ‘Software as a Medical Device’, as a DTx, delivering behavioural therapy integrated with drug therapy, as a single prescription, is ushering in a new chapter in tailored medicine and care.”

Lennart Hergel, Ananda Impact Ventures, commented “Closed Loop Medicine’s models of care will generate significant impact for individuals, who would have otherwise received standardised treatment, through better outcomes and addition to quality of life. At a systemic impact level, this approach promises to radically and impactfully change the capacity and performance of healthcare systems for the whole population’s benefit.”

Tim Rea, investor at BGF, commented: “We have backed Closed Loop Medicine since February 2020 and are delighted to be supporting the next stage of the company’s growth journey. The team have pioneered a revolutionary approach to combining drug and digital therapies to offer more personalised care pathways for patients and clinicians. We look forward to continuing to work with the management team, as they respond to the growing market need for new digital models of healthcare.”

Clare Terlouw, Head of the Early Ventures team at LifeArc commented: “LifeArc Ventures is pleased to support Closed Loop Medicine as it progresses in developing its drug + DTx combination products. This is an area of innovation at the intersection of data, digital health and traditional therapeutics, and one that LifeArc strongly supports. We look forward to working with the team and investors.”

Matt Pierce from Downing Ventures adds:” As we are living through a time when the importance of healthcare is more prevalent than ever, Closed Loop is improving outcomes for patients through tailored, personalised care with next generation therapeutics. We are proud to support Closed Loop Medicine and the incredible work they are doing to improve the healthcare space. We look forward to working with Hakim and his team in this next exciting chapter for the business.”

Dr Andy Richards CBE, Closed Loop Medicine Chairman commented “Providing the right dose of any medicine for a specific patient given the variability of individual therapeutic windows has largely been unaddressed by both the pharmaceutical industry and the clinical community. Through ‘drug plus DTx’ combination products this problem can be solved impacting on safer and more effective treatment of many diseases. This funding accelerates the achievement of that important goal”

About Closed Loop Medicine

Closed Loop Medicine (the “Company”) is the global leader in the development of single prescription drug plus digital therapy (DTx) combination products developed to optimise dosing on an individual level with linked behaviour therapy to improve patient outcomes. The company was founded by an experienced team of healthcare professionals, entrepreneurs and life scientists with experience of both drug and software development, as well as extensive health system innovation experience. The company has two products in development for hypertension and insomnia. It has further products in its pipeline for a wide portfolio of chronic diseases. The Company ensures that both patient and clinician are at the centre of its products design and development.

Ananda Impact Ventures

Ananda Impact Ventures is the leading impact-focused venture capital fund with a pan-European investment remit, managing €150 million in four Core Impact Funds, with backing from notable institutional and private investors. Ananda backs technology businesses committed to having a positive impact that answers the most pressing social and ecological challenges of our time, in a way that is both scalable and sustainable. The active portfolio includes Auticon (IT consulting for people with autism), Open Bionics (bionic prostheses for children), IESO Digital Health (online psychotherapy) and Ororatech (which uses satellite technology to combat forest fires).

For more about Ananda Impact Ventures, visit www.ananda.vc.

BGF

BGF was set up in 2011 and has invested over £2.5bn in more than 400 companies, making it the most active growth capital investor in the UK. BGF is a minority, non-controlling equity partner with a patient outlook on investments, based on shared long-term goals with the management teams it backs. BGF invests in growing businesses in the UK and Ireland through its network of 16 offices. In 2018, Canada launched its equivalent – the Canadian Business Growth Fund – and in 2020, Australia did the same, both based on BGF’s approach and funding model. See: www.bgf.co.uk. Part of BGF’s investment in Closed Loop Medicine comes from its recently launched UK Enterprise Fund established alongside Coutts to provide private clients with access to privately held, disruptive and diverse companies which are revolutionising their industries.

About LifeArc

LifeArc is a self-funded medical research charity. Our mission is to advance translation of early science into health care treatments or diagnostics that can be fully developed and made available to patients. We have been doing this for more than 25 years and our work has resulted in a diagnostic for antibiotic resistance and four licensed medicines. Our success allows us to explore new approaches to stimulate and fund translation. We have our own drug discovery and diagnostics development facilities, supported by experts in technology transfer and intellectual property who also provide services to other organisations. Our model is built on collaboration, and we partner with a broad range of groups including medical research charities, research organisations, industry and academic scientists. We are motivated by patient need and scientific opportunity. LifeArc has several different funding mechanisms to invest in promising innovations to ultimately benefit patients. Our Philanthropic Fund provides grants to support medical research projects focused on translating rare diseases research. Our Early Ventures investment strategy builds on our Seed Fund portfolio of start-up companies; investing in innovative new modalities, technologies and translational research that could benefit patients and generate income for us to drive further innovation. Find out more about our work on www.lifearc.org 

About Downing Ventures

Downing Ventures invests in innovative technology companies and pioneering founders across the globe with Early to Growth Stage funding across the Deep Tech, Enterprise and Healthcare sectors. The Downing Ventures team spans the UK, USA and Israel giving our portfolio a global perspective and expertise. The team are scientists, engineers, founders, visionary thinkers and story tellers. We have a portfolio of 66 companies as of November 2021. To find out more, visit www.downingventures.com.

About Meltwind

Meltwind are the due diligence and portfolio management team for Jonathan Milner, founder and former CEO of Abcam. Jonathan invests as an Angel across the life sciences, supporting early-stage companies throughout their journey with investment and guidance. Find out more about our work at www.meltwind.co.uk