A digital platform focused on tackling severe mental illness has closed a £1.8m funding round.
CareLoop is a University of Manchester spin-out, which provides patients with digital support, while also enabling healthcare professionals to monitor and track their symptoms. The tech includes personalised algorithmic escalation prediction to prevent episodes.
“While there are numerous digital mental health tools on the market, they tend to focus on wellbeing and common mental health problems such as anxiety and mild to moderate depression,” explained Zoë Blake, CEO of CareLoop.
“And whilst many leverage evidence-based techniques, few have the robust clinical evidence of efficacy required to be called a digital therapeutic. Our mission has always been to provide accessible care where it’s needed to those living with the most severe and enduring mental illnesses. With approval from NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), over 10 years of data and now the backing of key and well-connected investment partners, we’re looking forward to enhancing the way mental health support is delivered to improve the lives of many millions living with these conditions.”
The money comes from the GMC Life Sciences Fund By Praetura, NPIF II – Praetura Equity Finance (which is managed by Praetura Ventures as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund), Verge and SFC Capital.
“We understood CareLoop’s mission, vision for transforming severe mental illness aftercare and the wider roadmap from our very first meeting with the team,” said Sim Singh-Landa, Investment Director and Head of the GMC Life Sciences Fund By Praetura.
“Fast-forward to the present day and we’re incredibly excited to not only be supporting the company with investment but also the more than money guidance and network support it needs to scale and deploy its technology across the NHS and other global health institutions. The company is a testament to the quality of spinouts coming out of the University of Manchester, and the North West’s universities more generally. In addition, it’s great to see the GMC Life Sciences Fund by Praetura and the NPIFII – Praetura Equity Finance funds collaborate alongside co-investors from the UK and Singapore.”
The company is now set to open its first headquarters in Manchester’s Sister innovation district.
READ MORE – £1.7billion innovation district ID Manchester is now Sister
CareLoop was founded by Professor Shôn Lewis, Professor John Ainsworth and Professor Sandra Bucci, who are academics at the University of Manchester, along with Blake, who previously worked digital mental health platform, Kooth plc and Dr Pauline Whelan, previously co-director of the GM.Digital unit at Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation and the University of Manchester’s Digital Health Software lead.
