Brussels, February 4, 2020 – Solvay Ventures announces today its equity investment in Invizius,  the University of Edinburgh spin-out developing potentially lifesaving products that reduce complications rates suffered by dialysis patients. Solvay Ventures invests alongside Mercia Asset Management, Downing Ventures, the University of Edinburgh’s Old College Capital fund and the Scottish Investment Bank. Invizius is conducting pre-clinical testing and manufacturing, as it prepares to enter clinical trials and intends to raise Series A funding within 18 months.

As market leader in sulfone polymers, Solvay provides pure, biocompatible specialty polymers used in the production of dialysis filters. In addition to its internal R&D efforts, investments in ground-breaking start-ups like Invizius advances Solvay’s commitment to serving this market to help increase life expectancy and survival rate for millions of patients on dialysis all across the world. 

“Invizius is developing a breakthrough solution, bridging the worlds of advanced materials, Solvay’s core expertise, and biotechnology, to offer patients on dialysis an improved outlook. At Solvay Ventures we see the fusion of biotech and materials happening in key Solvay markets and we actively support that evolution,” said Peter Vanlaeke, Investment Manager Solvay Ventures Europe.

The patient's immune system treats the dialysis machine as a foreign body. “Invizius’s H-Guard™ product is a powerful anti-inflammatory used to coat the dialysis filter surface to ‘hide’ it and prevent an immune response with serious life-shortening cardiovascular complications,” explains CTO Dr Andy Herbert. This innovative technology also has potential for use with devices such as heart and lung machines, stents and grafts, or in organ and cell transplants. 

“Our goal is to bring much-needed improvement to the lives of millions of dialysis patients. This investment allows us to take a big step towards this, and we are delighted to have won the backing of a consortium of smart, well-funded investors such as Solvay Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of the Solvay Group with its historical dialysis market presence,” said Richard Boyd, co-founder and CEO of Invizius.

 Solvay's press release may be found here.