Success Story
| Region/Nation | Wales |
|---|---|
| Programme | Future Fund |
With its next financing round completed, Momentum Bioscience was funnelling much of that investment towards setting up a crucial clinical pilot study for its new product. Then COVID-19 hit, forcing major cost-cutting and threatening job losses.
Read what the company had to say in this Future Fund case study.
British Business Bank: Can you tell us what your company does?
Sumi Thaker, CEO of Momentum Bioscience: Using venture capital and angel investment financing, we research and develop diagnostic tests that will have a significant impact on the life chances of patients who are suspected of having sepsis. We’ve developed an ultra-sensitive, two-hour test called SepsiSTAT® to detect the presence/absence of bacteria and fungi in blood.
The coronavirus has affected a huge number of businesses across the UK. What problems were you facing as a result of the outbreak and what made you apply to the Future Fund?
A critical next phase in developing SepsiSTAT® involves running a clinical pilot study with patients who are suspected of sepsis. We started this study in the US at the beginning of March, intending to report results four to six months later. Positive data from this study would give us a good platform on which to raise further funds as our finances were projected to last until the first quarter of 2021. However, COVID-19 put this trial on hold as healthcare systems focused on fighting the virus.
The money we received via the Future Fund, along with significant measures we put in place to contain costs, has given us the breathing room to be able to restart the study, report results and get back on track with a new financing round.
How long did the application process take? Did you need any support?
We found the application process very straightforward, fast and efficient, and we required very little support. We submitted our application on the day the Future Fund opened, with the process towards completing the convertible loan agreement taking just a few weeks. We received the money a few weeks after that.
The money we received via the Future Fund, along with significant measures we put in place to contain costs, has given us the breathing room to be able to restart the study, report results and get back on track with a new financing round. Sumi Thaker CEO of Momentum Bioscience
What advice would you give to other businesses that are applying to the Future Fund?
In what is now a prolonged world of uncertainty, making sure a business has enough cash reserves to weather that uncertainty seems critical. Assuming you have support from existing or new shareholders, I’d advise you to apply for the Future Fund. We made the application and then went about getting the necessary consents in place.
How has the Future Fund helped your organisation to weather the outbreak? And what might have happened if you hadn’t received the money?
Our business was at a sensitive stage having just completed a financing round and invested heavily in setting up the pilot study. Had our application to the Future Fund not been successful in, it’s highly likely that we’d have had to embark on deeper cost cuts, including making a significant number of redundancies.
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