The digital therapeutic platform has already been recommended for use by the NHS and intends to use the funds raised to continue to develop its technology.
A digital therapeutic platform and University of Manchester spinout that focuses on tackling severe mental illness has closed a £1.8 million round of seed funding. The round was led by 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, Singapore-based Verge and early-stage investor SFC Capital.
Launched in 2021, CareLoop integrates with existing treatment pathways and provides patients with digital support while enabling clinicians to monitor and track patients’ symptoms remotely, along with personalised algorithmic escalation prediction to prevent episodes.
“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,” she continued
Clinical trials
CareLoop was founded by mental health experts Shôn Lewis, John Ainsworth and Sandra Bucci at the University of Manchester. Chief executive is Zoë Blake who was previously at digital mental health platform Kooth while chief operating officer is 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.
The company, which is set to open its first headquarters in Manchester’s new Sister innovation district, has conducted five clinical trials to test its safety and effectiveness in symptom management and reduction in relapses.
Last year, CareLoop was recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s (NICE) Early Value Assessment Programme (EVA), which recommends products for use in the NHS. CareLoop has also identified cash savings for the NHS of between five and 47 times the cost of licensing its product, depending on the severity of each condition.
“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,” explains Blake. Few have the robust clinical evidence of efficacy required to be called a digital therapeutic,” she continued.
It is estimated that more than 70 million people worldwide suffer from severe mental illness. Often these conditions are chronic, incurable or extremely difficult to manage. In the UK caring for people with psychosis alone accounts costs £4 billion which is a third of the annual mental health budget.
CareLoop has said that it intends to use the funds raised to continue to develop its technology to encompass other severe mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder.
