University of Leeds spinout Adsilico has secured a £3.5m investment for its AI-powered medical device testing system.
Founded in 2022 based on research from the West Yorkshire university, Adsilico has developed a method for trialling new devices before entering human clinical tests that the company claims reduces costs, accelerates R&D timelines and eliminates the need for animal testing.
Called in-silico trials (ISTs), Adsilico uses modelling and simulation to produce performance results. The spinout has developed an IST technique that combines multiple data sources and, using generative AI, creates synthetic populations tailored to the scale required by clinics.
The investment came from Northern Gritstone and Parkwalk Advisors.
“Medical devices follow a lengthy evaluation with a tiny amount of scientific evidence currently derived from computer modelling and simulation,” said Prof Alejandro Frangi, founder of Adsilico.
“The cost is ever-increasing, delaying lifesaving benefits to patients. Northern Gritstone’s and Parkwalk’s investment and support will enable Adsilico to offer a scalable solution to the medical device market to produce evidence on an unprecedented scale”.
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, added: “Computational modelling has the potential to revolutionise the MedTech industry and reduce the risks to humans.
“Northern Gritstone is delighted to support Adsilico’s team, who once again demonstrate that great science and technology-enabled businesses are being created in the North of England.”
In October, Northern Gritstone, which specialises in investments into spinouts in the North, announced the final close of its £312m fund.