Spex Capital joins forces with MedCity to fund early stage health tech

Newly launched digital health and med-tech investment firm Spex Capital has partnered with MedCity to identify and fund early stage health tech ventures and accelerate their route to commercialisation.

Under the deal, MedCity, which is the cluster organisation for the health and life sciences sector in London and the south east, will use its networks and expertise to attract applications from investment-ready companies developing breakthrough digital health tech and med-tech.

Spex, which was founded earlier this year by serial health tech entrepreneur Claudio D’Angelo, said it has a fundraising target of £100m and will be looking at making investments of between £500,000 and £5m in the most promising companies.

The first call will kick off in September and will focus on companies seeking seed and Series A stage investment.

‘There is an incredible pool of talent with unexpressed potential in digital health and med tech, but many innovative ventures in the sector don’t get access to the appropriate opportunities in their early stages due to lack of funds and track record,’ said D’Angelo. ‘This is where Spex Capital comes in. Specialised in advancing disruptive early-stage ventures, our goal is to deliver breakthroughs in healthcare systems globally. I’m glad to be working again with MedCity on an exclusive basis with my new venture. We’ve fine-tuned the process over the years to deliver a more efficient reviewal process and I’m excited to see what this call will yield in terms of talent.’

New research from tech-focussed investment bank ICON Corporate Finance indicates that health is leading strong growth in M&A activity across the tech sector as strong equity markets and digital transformation fuel demand for disruptive businesses.

Its UK Tech M&A Snapshot identified a record 500 tech transactions completed in the period from January to June, with valuations averaging 23x EV/EBIT. Private equity and overseas acquirers remained aggressive, with the latter accounting for nearly half of all deals.

Brian Parker, head of M&A at ICON, said: ‘We’ve seen deal volumes and valuations at near record levels, and with continued interest from overseas and private equity-backed acquirers, H1 2021 has made for a buoyant tech M&A market, especially for the health sector.’