• The funds will be used to support the clinical development of their patented treatment for Diabetic Foot Ulcers (“DFUs”)
• Diabetes affects 3.7m people across the UK, one in four will suffer a DFU
• Biotherapy Services Limited has recently been awarded an Innovation Passport by the UK authorising bodies

Click here to view the announcement as a PDF.

London, 08 July 2021: Foresight Group (“Foresight”), the award-winning listed private equity and infrastructure investment manager, is pleased to announce a £1.5m follow-on investment into portfolio company Biotherapy Services Ltd (“BTS” or “the Company”), a leading pharmaceutical biotech company.  The funds will be used to support the clinical development of RAPID^TM Biodynamic Haematogel, currently in phase 2b/3 clinical trials in the treatment of DFUs.

Based in Windsor, BTS was co-founded in 2013, specialising in autologous regenerative techniques.  It has developed a wound care treatment with published results in healing severe DFUs, resulting in 13 of 15 patients (86.7%) at high risk of limb loss avoiding amputation². Originally marketed as a medical device, the treatment has since been reclassified by the UK’s regulatory body, the MHRA, as a medicinal product. It now requires the appropriate clinical trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy, and progress to market authorisation.

Diabetes affects 3.7m people across the UK, one in four of whom will suffer a DFU. Currently this results in 169,000 DFUs being treated annually by the NHS. Chronic ulcers, defined as those which do not resolve in 12 weeks, go on to cause 11,000 amputations per annum, and cost the NHS £935m in 2017 alone. Diabetes accounts for 10% of the entire NHS budget and this is forecast to increase as the number of diabetes sufferers in the UK grows to 5.1m by 2025, up c.38% and it’s hoped this treatment will help address the significant quality of life impact that a DFU can have on diabetic patients’ lives.

The Company has recently been awarded an Innovation Passport by the authorising bodies including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”) and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (“NICE”), under their recently launched Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (“ILAP”) scheme¹. This was granted in recognition of the high unmet clinical needs of patients affected by DFUs, with compelling early phase data to indicate potential benefit of RAPID^TM Biodynamic Haematogel to patients.

BTS is broadening its clinical development into other areas which would benefit from similar technology such as patients impacted by non-healing wounds (pressure ulcers, deep sternal wounds, post-operative wounds and palliative care). This is an area of high unmet clinical need and currently represents a market worth over £5.6bn in the UK³. Longer term, the Company is planning to expand its technology and expertise across diverse clinical areas such as hair re-growth, scar reduction and prophylaxis of wound infection for high risk procedures.

Commenting on the additional funding, John Chiplin, Chairman of Biotherapy Services said: " We are delighted to continue to receive the support of Foresight, which has enabled Biotherapy Services Ltd to develop and continue to commercialise a range of therapies that will be truly therapeutically disruptive in improving the lives of patients living with chronic wounds and reducing the burden on both the NHS and globally”.

Nick Mettyear, Investment Manager at Foresight, added: “The recent Innovation Passport award for RAPID^TM Gel is a significant step forward in the Company’s journey to offering a new treatment option for DFU, a debilitating and costly condition. Foresight is excited to continue to support a truly revolutionary approach to the problem of chronic non-healing wounds.”

 

Foresight is one of the most active investors in SMEs in the UK, with flexible capital to fund companies in any sector through a wide range of transactions and growth stages. With seven offices across the UK, the Foresight team works closely with entrepreneurs and management teams, an approach that has delivered strong returns to investors for over 35 years.

 

References:

• https://www.gov.uk/guidance/innovative-licensing-and-access-pathway
• Martin T, Kyriakides CK, Sarkar S. Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) is an Adjunct for the Accelerated Closure of High-Risk Diabetic Foot Wounds. British Journal of Surgery Feb 2015 102; S2: p24 https://doi.org/10.1002/bjs.9770
• Guest JF, Fuller GW, Vowden P. Cohort study evaluating the burden of wounds to the UK's National Health Service in 2017/2018: update from 2012/2013. BMJ Open. 2020 Dec. https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/10/12/e045253

 

Advisers to BTS and Foresight:

Legal Advice: RW Blears

 

For more information contact:

 

Citigate (PR to Foresight):

Patricia De Bidegain: foresight@citigatedewerogerson.com / +44 (0) 7921 353 825

Will Easton: foresight@citigatedewerogerson.com / +44 (0) 7860 753146

 

Notes to Editors

 

About Foresight Group LLP (“Foresight”):

Foresight is an award-winning listed infrastructure and private equity investment manager which has been managing investment funds on behalf of institutions and retail clients for more than 35 years.

Foresight has more than £7 billion of Assets Under Management across a number of funds, including Listed Vehicles, Limited Partnerships, Enterprise Investment Schemes (EISs), Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs), Inheritance Tax Solutions using Business Relief (BR) and Open-Ended Investment Companies (OEICs).

Foresight’s Private Equity Team, comprising over 30 investment professionals, manages c.£700 million in a portfolio of more than 100 companies and pursues four discrete but complementary investment styles: Venture, Impact, Growth and Replacement Capital through its growing regional office network.

Foresight was a commended finalist in the Best Venture Capital Trust Provider category at the 2020 Investment Life & Pensions Moneyfacts Awards. Foresight was named ‘Fund Manager of the Year’ at the PLC Awards last year, ‘Generalist VCT of the Year’ at the Investment Week Tax Efficiency Awards 2018/19 and was a finalist in the 2018 Unquote British Private Equity Awards as Venture and Growth Capital House of the Year.

Foresight’s largest office is in London with regional UK offices in Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham, Milton Keynes, Leicester, Cambridge and Guernsey and international offices in Sydney, Rome, Madrid, and Luxembourg.

foresightgroup.eu

About BTS:

BTS is a pharmaceutical biotech company founded by Janet Hadfield and Kambiz Golchin in 2013. The pair developed a new treatment, “RAPID”, specifically for slow healing and complex wounds. The RAPID procedure extracts the patient’s own blood and passes it through a laser-assisted centrifugal machine that separates out its various components. A blood gel is then created with precisely the right levels of platelets, white blood cells and added vitamin C to optimise the healing process for the wound. The gels are then applied to the wound in a series of treatments over a number of weeks, resulting in a 90% increase in healing efficacy.

In 2017, after BTS had started selling the product, the UK’s regulatory body (the MHRA) ruled that RAPID should be considered a medicine, requiring considerably more strenuous licensing and trials. In August 2019, the Company passed its MHRA inspection permitting it to sell RAPID as a special medicine in 135 NHS hospitals.

https://biotherapyservices.com/