York pregnancy and fertility startup receives £400k investment

Mercia Technologies PLC, which specialises in building, funding and commercialising British businesses, has invested £400k in North Yorkshire’s Concepta Diagnostics Limited.

This is Mercia’s first direct investment sourced from the portfolio of investments managed by Enterprise Ventures Group (“EVG”), following its acquisition by Mercia on 9 March 2016.

The acquisition of EVG, a provider of early stage and growth finance via third party managed funds in the North of England, has significantly expanded Mercia’s pipeline of direct investment prospects.

Concepta Diagnostics Limited, which develops diagnostic devices for women’s health, is based in York.

Founded by a group of experienced scientists who previously worked for Unipath Limited in the fields of fertility and women’s health, Concepta has developed a range of market-ready products.

Its product range recently achieved product registration in one of its largest target markets, China, where the abolition of China’s one-child policy is expected to drive significant demand for a cost-effective at-home fertility monitoring system as parents seek to have additional children.

Concepta’s product range provides reliable data to women for a variety of fertility applications, using proprietary disposable test strips and devices linked to a mobile app which captures levels of key fertility hormones in urine and builds an accurate and easy-to-understand “digital diary”.

Peter Dines, investment director and head of life sciences at Mercia, said: “The investment into Concepta reinforces the strategic rationale behind Mercia’s acquisition of EVG, as a high-quality portfolio company within its portfolio.

“One of the key drivers behind the acquisition of EVG was to enable Mercia to expand the pipeline of opportunities from which it can make direct investments and Concepta is a perfect example of this strategy in action.”

Dr. Mark Wyatt, who has managed the third party investment for EVG, added: “Having worked with Concepta for a number of years, I am pleased that this new investment will enable the company to move to the next stage of its development and bring this exciting technology to market.

“Typically, follow-on funding can be a real obstacle for the continued development and success of early stage companies but as part of Mercia, we are now able to support regional innovation all the way through its journey thanks to our access to Mercia’s direct funding model. I am delighted that Concepta is the first of our innovative investments to benefit from this capability and look forward to continuing to work with the team to deliver Concepta’s commercial success.”

Erik Henau, CEO of Concepta Diagnostics Limited, also commented: “We are delighted to work with Mercia. Its endorsement is a boost for our plans to make a major impact in the area of personalised healthcare. Our initial product offering will bring hope to millions of couples for whom conception is an agonising wait.”

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