Oxford Isis Fund Initiates Investment Plans

The University of Oxford Isis Fund has backed medical device spin-out Oxtex and Brainomix, a start up from the Isis Software Incubator which is developing software to improve stroke diagnosis. Set up by Parkwalk Advisors and Isis Innovation in February, these are the first companies to benefit from the Group’s £1.25m investment fund.

Brainomix is pioneering a system which puts the expertise of the best stroke physicians into the hands of frontline medical staff. The University of Oxford Isis Fund joined an investor group led by Mark Jaffray of Chimera Partners, and including Parkwalk Advisors, in a £1.2 million funding round that Brainomix will use to further develop and launch the software for clinical use

.Brainomix CEO Dr Michalis Papadakis said: “Currently up to half of the patients who should be treated for stroke are not, because of difficulty in reading CT scan images accurately. We are developing the first imaging software which can automatically interpret CT scans of stroke patients. This enables hospitals to improve their existing treatment, leading to better outcomes for patients.”

Spun out by Isis in 2011, Oxtex has raised over £1.4m in start-up funding and will receive £150,000 from the University of Oxford Isis Fund. This will be used to strengthen the company’s senior management, scale up the device manufacturing and launch its first commercial product for the veterinary market.

Developed by surgeons at the John Radcliffe Hospital and scientists from the Department of Materials, the company’s tissue expander has applications in human reconstructive, dental and veterinary surgery.