1st April 2015
Alesi Surgical secures £2.1m funding to drive commercialisation of Ultravision Funding to drive adoption via new distributor network
Alesi Surgical (formerly Asalus Medical Instruments Limited) announced today that it has secured additional funding of £2.1 million to drive the further commercialisation of its lead product, UltravisionTM, which was developed from concept to CE-marked device with backing from IP Group and Finance Wales.
The funding comes at an important inflection point for the Company. In 2014, Ultravision was awarded a CE mark, and the company appointed distributors in 25 countries. The new investment provides capital to drive adoption of Ultravision, which has already been trialled across a spectrum of the most commonly performed laparoscopic procedures in gastrointestinal, gynaecological, urological and colorectal surgery.
Ultravision is a substantial advance on current vacuum based systems, which have been poorly adopted because of their inefficiency. Ultravision uses electrostatic precipitation, a proven method of clearing vapour and particulate matter in industrial settings, which had not previously been used in surgical applications. Last year the product was awarded the prestigious Cutler Prize, which is granted by the Royal College of Surgeons for innovations in surgical technology. Ultravision is compatible with all major electrosurgical instruments.
“We have developed a simple, hands-free device that is unobtrusive in the operating room and delivers highly effective resolution of the issue of surgical smoke. Surgical teams involved in Ultravision trials were overwhelmingly positive, and the vast majority wanted to carry on using it after the trial ended,” said Dr Dominic Griffiths, Managing Director of Alesi Surgical.
Peter Grant, Head of Healthcare at IP Group plc, said: “We have supported Alesi Surgical since inception, both directly and via our co-investment agreement with Fusion IP plc, which is now part of the Group. Over that period, we have been pleased with the progress that Alesi Surgical has made as Ultravision gains momentum and receives the interest and recognition it deserves from the surgical community. This next round of funding will allow the team at Alesi Surgical to further strengthen its sales and marketing activities as it seeks to take the product to market.”
Finance Wales has made six investments in Alesi Surgical, alongside IP Group plc and the former Fusion IP plc. Ann Casey, Investment Executive at Finance Wales, commented: “Finance Wales has invested in Alesi, supporting it from its early stage research and development through to international market entry. The company continues to go from strength to strength. It has recruited a number of new staff at its Cardiff headquarters and is also making excellent progress establishing worldwide distribution networks. Ultravision has received some excellent reviews from senior clinicians and we’re pleased to invest in this latest round. We look forward to seeing Alesi achieve a profitable trading position.”
In parallel with the funding, the Company has changed its name from Asalus Medical Instruments to Alesi Surgical. Derived from “arloesi” the Welsh word for innovation, the change of name represents a statement of intent by the Company to continue innovation in surgical devices that improve patient outcomes and simplify complex surgical procedures.