IP Group makes first investment in Glasgow spin-out

Spin-out investment

The quoted technology management specialist IP Group plc has made its first investment in a company spinning out from the University of Glasgow, following the signing of a partnership last October.

IP Group invested £400,000 in Wireless bioDevices, which was set up to commercialise wireless sensor technology for use in medical diagnostics. The company’s first product will be a ‘pill’ that detects early signs of bowel cancer.

The electronic pill will take measurements as it passes through the body, transmitting the data via a wireless link to a small unit attached externally to the patient. The company says that the technology could be applied to measure a  range of medically important markers.

Wireless bioDevices will be headed by Nick Wood, who has been working with the University of Glasgow for the last 12 months, under funding from the Scottish Enterprise Glasgow/European Regional Development Fund CEO Designate programme.

The CEO Designate programme, devised by the universities of Glasgow, Strathclyde and Caledonian, was set up in 2005 to enable the universities to hire CEOs in advance of companies being incorporated, to lead the development of spin-out ventures and manage the businesses through the early stages. Wireless bioDevices is the first of four projects currently receiving this support at the University of Glasgow.

Steve Beaumont, VP Research & Enterprise at Glasgow University, said, “Wireless bioDevices is based on a combination of technologies developed by our bioelectronics and microelectronics research groups with the support of our life scientists. It is an excellent example of how the university is bringing together experts from many fields.”