The £25M North West Fund for Biomedical has announced its investment in telemedical company Med ePad

The £25m North West Fund for Biomedical has made its first investment in the telemedical sector. Merseyside start-up company Med ePad, based in Liverpool Science Park, has secured a £50K Pathfinder Investment from the Fund, run by early-stage venture capital firm SPARK Impact.

The North West Fund for Biomedical is a sub-fund of the £185m evergreen The North West Fund that is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Med ePad has developed a cost-effective interactive touch screen mobile internet device for healthcare service providers, aimed at improving the efficiency of treatment and empowering patients to better manage their self-care.

The 7-inch tablet has been designed to come loaded with condition specific apps created in conjunction with NHS healthcare professionals.

Its vast array of functions include the ability to record medication regimes and daily living patterns, send appointment reminders, conduct online consultations and access specific information relating to a particular condition, and where appropriate in the language of the patients choice.

There are around 15 million long term condition sufferers in the UK. Med ePad would be a huge benefit for many of them by assisting in the delivery of better patient care and outcomes, as well as increasing productivity and reducing waste and resource at a time of austerity within the Health Service.

The £50K Pathfinder investment from The North West Fund for Biomedical will be used to fund the development of initial apps and run a number of real trials with healthcare services in both primary and secondary care.

Rob Connell, Med ePad founder and chief technical officer, said: “I am very grateful to SPARK Impact for both their £50k investment and believing in Med ePad and I am looking forward to being able to develop a range of efficiency and patient benefiting applications, and can’t wait to see them being used in real trials on the Med ePad across the region.”

Dr Penny Attridge, Senior Investment Director at SPARK Impact and manager of The North West Fund for Biomedical, said: “We are very excited to be investing in the telemedicine space with Med ePad. This is a sector we feel is ripe for growth and expansion. The adoption of digital, wireless and handheld devices to improve communication and efficiency is really only in its infancy; but we hope Med ePad can help to change this.”