INSIGHTS / News

Surrey SETsquared member, Fourth State Medicine (4SM), has been selected to take part in MedCity’s ‘Collaborate to Innovate’ programme.

The £2m programme, led by King’s College London and part-funded by ERDF and HEFCE, is connecting 16 life sciences SMEs with leading academics to address a specific challenge related to their product or service. They will be working with academics at King’s College London, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, and University College London to develop and commercialise the next generation of the companies innovations.

Over 70 companies applied to the programme and were matched with suitable academic partners to develop 6-12 month collaborative proposals worth up to £100,000. A panel of academics and industry representatives selected 16 projects, based on technological potential, R&D challenges, commercial potential and impact.

Forth State Medicine was ranked as the number 1 project that the panel reviewed, which is testament to the rapid progress the company has made in the last few years and follows hot on the heels of an award from the British Skin Foundation (BSF). This money from this award is being used by 4SM to fund a PhD project alongside leading academics from University of Hull and is real recognition of the potential that the 4SM technology can bring to the needs of the market.

Fourth State Medicine has leveraged years of experience designing cutting edge space technology to create a platform plasma technology for use in minimally invasive cosmetic surgery and wound management. The hand-held technology can be used for removal of wrinkles and scars and will also be used to help chronic wounds like ulcers and bed sores to heal, bringing with it a real benefit to patients lives.

Dr Tom Frame, CEO of Fourth State Medicine, said: “We’re honoured to be working with Dr Rosalind Hannen at Queen Mary University of London’s Blizard Institute, to validate our product and demonstrate its effectiveness for diabetic patients, as part of the Collaborate to Innovate programme.  As an emerging and highly regarded academic she will be helping us explore  new market applications for our product, and helping to unlock the endless potential of our technologies. To also have a partner like the BSF who specialise in skin care research supporting the validation of the 4SM technology is a great boost.”