Highland Venture Capital

Investing throughout Scotland in emerging business

Portfolio

Highland Venture Capital have been established since 2006 and continues to invest in companies that meet their high standards. Please have a look at some of the companies below that our members have backed for success.

Libero Pharma is an early stage biotechnology company – a spin out from Syntropharma – with a unique US IP protected transdermal patch containing naltrexone which could mitigate many of the issues associated with existing formulations.

Naltrexone is a widely prescribed medicine licensed for use in the management of Opiate Addiction and Alcohol Use Disorder.  It is also used in an unlicensed capacity in indications such as Fibromyalgia and even some cancer treatments.

www.liberopharma.com

Leaders in software enhanced navigation systems for GPS-free flying, Flare Bright was founded in 2015 by Dr Kelvin Hamilton and co-founded by Dr Conrad Rider, where they wanted to take their experience in subsea autonomy to the skies.

Flare Bright has since developed its unique Software Enhanced Navigation System, which allows for autonomous platforms to continue their mission within GPS-Denied/Disrupted environments.

www.flarebright.com

pureLiFi is the global leader in the development and innovation of LiFi technology. The company was formed in 2012 shortly after the success of co-founder Professor Haas’s TED Global talk “Wireless Data from Every Light Bulb“. Since the formation of the company pureLiFi has launched 7 breakthrough products that are World’s firsts. Including Kitefin which was used in the world’s first large scale deployment of LiFi and deployed by the US Army.

www.purelifi.com

PneumoWave is an integrated platform of patient data capture and proprietary analysis.

Their solutions aim to facilitate a paradigm shift in respiratory care focusing on intervention before disease or injury has advanced.

By wearing a small, chest-worn biosensor, it continuously captures data and transmits it wirelessly for analysis. By using proprietary algorithms, the aim is to use this data to accurately detect a range of respiratory adverse events in real-time.

This processed data can be viewed in a cloud platform, allowing clinicians to remotely provide personalized treatment. It also acts as an alert system that promptly notifies healthcare providers of potential respiratory distress, enabling timely interventions.

www.pneumowave.com

Sunamp designs and manufactures space-saving thermal energy storage solutions that make homes, buildings and vehicles more energy-efficient & sustainable while reducing carbon emissions and optimising renewables.

www.sunamp.com

Ocutec Ltd. is a Scotland-headquartered corporation, specializing in the development and commercialization of soft contact lenses utilising polyethylene glycol (PEG) polymer chemistry as the basis of its highly biocompatible contact lenses.

www.ocutec.com

Actual Analytics addresses a $29 billion global market in the pre-clinical stage of the drug discovery sector. Its validated, world leading analytical software product is deployed globally in Research, CRO and Big Pharma using cutting edge machine learning, artificial intelligence, and computervision, ensuring:

Ethical concerns are addressed: the solution reduces stress and suffering for animals and enables operators to meet the 3Rs principles;

Cost reduction: a shortened development timeframe which creates efficiencies and therefore reduces cost;

Better data: the researcher is able to monitor subjects 24/7 with all the key data interactions automatically catalogued to allow for seamless review and far more efficient than human observation techniques.

The company has ground breaking science being produced by its systems, which are increasingly being validated in scientific journals and papers.

www.actualanalytics.com

Sistemic is a development-stage biomedical company focused on the analysis of the information content of microRNA and other non-coding RNAs for applications in the development of cell therapies and drug repositioning. Sistemic’s patented and proprietary technology platforms provide a novel way to apply the information content of miRNA’s to overcome key obstacles to creating clinically useful stem cell therapies.

The technology provides a technology platform which is relatively simple to deploy but highly relevant and broadly applicable to the characterisation of cell therapies and can also be adapted to the discovery of instructive circulating biomarkers. These miRNA-based products are helping companies worldwide to develop better cell therapies in a cost-effective manner.

www.sistemic.co.uk

A consolidated group of craft breweries and spirit brands focusing on both domestic sales and export markets. Brands that fall under their banner include Broughton Ales, Spey Valley Brewery, Keith Brewery and Brewmeister.

www.scotbeers.com

Founded in 2012 and based in BioCity, Scotland, Insignia Technologies Ltd uses smart plastics and inks to produce simple, cost-effective colour-changing labels for packaging.

The key component to all of the company’s products is Insignia’s patented smart pigments, which change colour in response to changing levels of CO₂ or temperature.

Commonly used in the food industry, our base technology is multifunctional, with applications for medical devices, pharmaceuticals, packaging opening times and integrity detectors. 

www.insigniatechnologies.com

Established in 2010 and originating from a groundbreaking idea for a bacteria-free container. With venture capital support and a patent filed in 2003, the company tested the technology using a corona discharge machine. This machine facilitated the validation of the phage immobilisation technology.

Following patent filing in 2003, and with venture capital funding, the technology was tested. A corona discharge machine, provided by the car polish company Glaze, enabled them to validate the phage immobilisation technology.

Looking to further enhance the innovative plasma-based immobilisation technology, making it scalable, versatile, cost-effective, fast, and eco-friendly compared to chemical methods. The outcome is scalable immobilised phage formulations with sustained antibacterial activity, even after drying, and stability in diverse real-world environments.

The company has continued to build a substantial patent portfolio, encompassing the latest developments in the immobilisation technology and specific application areas.

Focused on addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and improving both human and animal health while capitalising on our considerable expertise and knowledge in the development of effective and sustainable phage-based solutions, ensuring an unwavering commitment towards our extensive and innovative work with phages, and a focused strategy as the UK’s leading end-to-end phage company.

www.nexabiome.com

Edinburgh Biosciences mission is to change how we treat cataracts by offering an alternative solution to cataract surgery and have developed the world’s first non-invasive solution to treat and reverse cataracts.

Ledinbio is a one-stop diagnosis and treatment solution that can be delivered in a primary care setting and not a hospital. Putting an end to the long waiting lists, the need for surgery and a lengthy recovery time. It is a quick and easy procedure that can be delivered by your local optometrist.

Currently undergoing patient trials we aim to bring this innovative treatment solution to the market in early 2025.

www.edinburghbiosciences.com