Albert Medical Devices (AMD) has achieved a second round investment of £300k from SPARK Impact, managers of The North West Fund for Biomedical. 

SPARK Impact made the investment after AMD used an initial £50k Pathfinder investment to develop its product prototype and branding, and build a solid case for further investment. 

AMD, based at Liverpool Science Park, developed ‘Melio', the world's first intelligent catheter leg bag, complete with electronic urine level sensor, discreet patient warning system, mini pump and patient control panel. 

The follow-on £300k will go towards the development of manufacturing tools to reduce the end user cost of the device further, expand the team in the area of commercial development, and work on its sales and marketing strategy. 

Tom Fitzherbert, CEO of AMD, said: "This is a great endorsement from The North West Fund for Biomedical, not only for the product but also for the team who have worked extremely hard to get the ‘Melio' leg bag approved and into the marketplace."  

Dr Penny Attridge, Senior Investment Director at SPARK Impact and Manager of The North West Fund for Biomedical, said: "AMD has made great progress since the Pathfinder investment in 2011. The company used the first round of investment to complete CE registration, and they have initial sales and have worked rigorously to develop a robust manufacturing programme that is yielding great results.

"This is the first follow-on investment from the Biomedical fund and clearly demonstrates that investing modest amounts via the Pathfinder model is working."

The North West Fund for Biomedical is a sub-fund of the £185m evergreen North West Fund that is jointly financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).

SPARK has completed 14 separate investments and 16 transactions with a strong pipeline of further follow on investments, new larger investments and a broad range of Pathfinder deals.

For more information about the fund and how to apply please visit www.thenorthwestfund.co.uk