Oxford Endovascular raises £8m to take brain aneurysm tech to human trials

Medtech startup Oxford Endovascular has completed an £8 million Series A+ funding round led by Parkwalk Advisors, an investor in university spinouts and innovators.

This latest investment will help the firm take its medical device, OXIFLOW, a step closer to a first-in-human clinical study.

Inspired by the Japanese art of origami and using folding concepts from space-age technologies deployed on satellites, OXIFLOW is being developed to improve patient outcomes for brain aneurysms - a condition that affects 1 in 50 people.

OXIFLOW is a unique flow-diverter stent which is used to treat intracranial aneurysms at risk of rupture.

The device is laser-cut from nitinol, an advanced nickel titanium alloy with superior memory and design capabilities.

Unlike conventional flow-diverters, OXIFLOW’s construction allows it to position and open more accurately and reliably.

It’s designed to conform to the patient's blood vessels and reduce the risk of complications associated with current treatments.

Up to 35 per cent of existing device placements for treating brain aneurysms today may have complications that can lead to adverse events.

This latest funding round will enable Oxford Endovascular to accelerate OXIFLOW’s development and further scale up its operations.

The company has made significant technological progress since its previous investment round in 2021 and is now entering a pivotal period in its development as it approaches human trials.

Mike Karim, CEO of Oxford Endovascular, said: “With the support of our investment partners, we’re close to realising our vision of transforming brain aneurysm treatment.

“As we approach first-in-human trials, our expert team is focused on working with regulators, physicians, and industry experts to bring this product to market and help tackle a condition that afflicts so many in the UK and worldwide.”

To date, Oxford Endovascular has also received financial backing in the form of grants from Horizon Europe, the EU’s key funding programme for research and innovation, and Innovate UK, the UK’s national innovation agency – as well as selection by the EU for its EIT-funded Covid rescue programme.

Alun Williams, investment director at Parkwalk Advisors, added:“We’re proud to be playing a leading role in helping Oxford Endovascular unlock amazing design and engineering capabilities to tackle brain aneurysms.

“We’re committed to backing research intensive companies that have the potential to make a difference via radical breakthroughs that will have a positive impact on society. Oxford Endovascular is the embodiment of this.

“This is a device we have backed from an early stage, that can improve lives, and it’s demonstrative of the exceptional ideas currently spinning out of universities in the UK.”

Parkwalk Advisors first invested in Oxford Endovascular in 2015 and has invested a further £4.2 million in this Series A+ round.

Other investors in the round include Norcliffe Capital, Oxford Science Enterprises (OSE), Vulpes and the University of Oxford.