Akkure Eyes Growth with Second Crowdfunding Campaign
- Clinical trials start-up raises over €1m in 7 days
Akkure, an Irish MedTech start-up which uses AI to match patients with clinical trials, has crowdfunded over €1 million in just 7 days. Last week the clinical trials start-up launched its second crowdfunding campaign on the Spark Crowdfunding platform and has raised the investment to date from just under 120 investors.
Akkure, a NovaUCD graduate company, currently employs a staff of 20 and is headquartered at NexusUCD, the Industry Partnership Centre.
With over 50,000 clinical trials worldwide, it can be difficult for both patients and physicians to find and access clinical trials. At the same time, many clinical trials never even get off the ground as they can’t recruit the number of patients they require. The Akkure Trial Finder makes it easier to sort through thousands of trials and can connect you with the right clinical trial within minutes.
Akkure co-founder Professor Oran Rigby said, “The achievement of raising €1 million in just one week through Spark Crowdfunding demonstrated the untapped desire for patients to begin to influence and partake in clinical trials, for the benefit of both themselves and their patient communities.”
Chris Burge, CEO, Spark Crowdfunding said, “It is unsurprising they have already smashed the €1 million mark in their latest crowdfunding campaign, as they have developed a pioneering platform to combat global clinical trial issues. Globally, 85% of clinical trials struggle to meet enrolment deadlines, and Akkure aims to solve this. It's clear investors and the public alike share Akkure’s vision to take the company to the next level.”
It is the second time the company has raised money from the Irish public through crowdfunding. Last year the company raised €1.18 million, more than double its initial target from almost 200 investors.
Akkure recently announced details of a ground-breaking project which is aimed at developing new medical technologies and potential cures for life threatening illnesses through Digital Twins.
The ‘Medical Digital Twin’ is a unique virtual copy of a patient’s entire genetic makeup. By grouping the data together on Akkure’s system, the company’s researchers will be able to mine this powerful data for key insights and help clinicians develop new technologies and potential cures through precision medicine. The Medical Digital Twins a valuable data asset which is stored cryptographically and accessed via blockchain technology will at all times remain the property of the patient.
Based in Dublin, Spark Crowdfunding has more than 9,500 investors on its database and has raised funds for 28 Irish start-ups over the last three years.
ENDS
21 November 2022
For further information contact Micéal Whelan, Communications and Media Relations Manager, NovaUCD, e: miceal.whelan@ucd.ie.
Editors Notes
Akkure was founded by Professor Oran Rigby, a consultant in intensive care medicine and surgery and Professor Amy Hollingsworth an Australian respiratory and lung transplant medical consultant in Dublin in 2019. The company has secured major funding through the Government’s Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund and Enterprise Ireland along with their consortium partners Microsoft and FutureNeuro at the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland. www.akkure.com
Spark Crowdfunding is Ireland’s first equity crowdfunding company. It was founded by Chris Burge in Dublin in May 2018. The company connects start-ups looking to raise funds with investors interested in buying shares in private Irish companies. To date, the Spark Crowdfunding platform has raised in excess of €13 million for more than 28 Irish start-ups. https://www.sparkcrowdfunding.com/