ProKyma raises Seed Finance
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ProKyma Technologies Ltd, a spin out company from the Defence, Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) has raised nearly half a million pounds to take a more environmentally friendly, defence technology a step further.
ProKyma was formed to exploit technology patented by the MOD and has received £470K from a recent funding round led by the Merseyside Special Investment Funds’ Liverpool Seed Fund.* This crucial investment will allow ProKyma to support wider product development and to move to larger facilities in Liverpool.
Bacterial tests usually entail the use of plastic consumables and heated incubation steps, but with this new technology, plastics are not needed as the operator can simply carry out the same test in a processing chamber. Inside the chamber, invisible sound waves are employed to control particles/biological cells and hold them against a flowing liquid which ultimately provides quicker and more accurate detection of diseases. The removal of plastics and reduced heating from the test process saves time and money for the operator and cuts the environmental burden on our planet.
Ploughshare Innovations, Dstl’s technology transfer company, was responsible for ProKyma’s formation in 2006. The experts at Ploughshare then helped to gain the funding necessary to prototype the technology for the development of a product for blood compatibility testing. Approximately 80 million units of blood are donated each year worldwide and each donor and recipient needs to be tested for compatibility. Each test uses a plastic encased system and, through ProKyma, these may soon become redundant.
The funding will also allow ProKyma to move to the North West. This illustrates Ploughshare’s commitment to commercialising defence technologies across the breadth of the UK.
Commenting on ProKyma, Andy Tulloch, CEO of Ploughshare Innovations said: “Ploughshare started in 2005 and ProKyma is the first of many new ventures that we will be spinning out based upon Dstl’s defence research. ProKyma is an exciting addition to the UK’s SME landscape and Ploughshare is very pleased to have NESTA, Rainbow Seed Fund and Liverpool Seed Fund alongside, supporting ProKyma’s growth.”
ProKyma's technology stems from Dstl’s world-leading position in the use of ultrasound to manipulate micro-particulates used in its chemical and biological (CB) research programme. The use of ultrasound enables the UK Armed Forces to detect small particles of CB agents, thereby quickly determining the necessary level of protection needed.
David Harris, Dstl’s Head of Technology Transfer said: “Dstl tackles some of the most challenging science and technology problems facing the UK Armed Forces and wider Government. The resulting technology is therefore truly ground breaking and by spinning out our technologies to companies like ProKyma, it ensures that our expertise is being transferred outside the MOD to the benefit of everyone.”
* The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) and Rainbow Seed Fund also participated in the funding round.
