Built by psychiatrists and psychologists, and a spun out from the University of Cambridge, UK-based healthtech company Psyomics has closed a £2.4m funding round. The financing was led by UK’s active investor in the university spin-out sector, Parkwalk (which also invested in OW Smell Digital and Orthox recently). Further, Meltwind and other investors also participated, along with new investments from Newable Ventures.
With significant pressure on the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK and other resources in recent years, there’s been a greater need for solutions when it comes to mental health, to ensure that people get the support they need. Psyomics aims to solve the same issue by working on a technology to support earlier and improved mental health diagnosis and treatment management.
Mental health assessment platform
Now with the latest funding, the digital health startup has plans to expand access to its online mental health assessment platform to individual users and also NHS trusts.
Co-founded in 2015 by Professor Sabine Bahn, head of the Cambridge Centre for Neuropsychiatric Research (CCNR) and Daniel Cowell, former COO of Horizon Discovery, Psyomics offers a mental health assessment platform Censeo — which mirrors the rich process of a comprehensive face-to-face assessment, in a digital form. Users are guided through a series of adaptive questions to build a detailed picture of their mental health symptoms and concerns. A report, composed of potential conditions and next step recommendations, is then generated, providing patients a stigma-free way to begin addressing any concerns.
When used within a healthcare setting, the platform supports clinicians (whether they are psychiatrists or not) with more efficient decision making, helping them to establish the right care pathway and level of support more quickly. A pilot within GP practices was conducted last year, with positive feedback received from both GPs and patients. Following this, access to Censeo was opened up to individual users for the first time earlier this year and new projects within NHS treatment providers are starting.
Stephanie Martlew, CEO of Psyomics, says: “The continued support from Parkwalk, Meltwind and BGF alongside new investment from Newable Ventures enables us to expand the reach of Censeo, helping more people who are struggling to find the right support for their mental health needs. We’re excited to grow our team, expand further across the NHS and demonstrate with our partners that our technology can make a substantial difference in the accuracy, consistency and efficiency of mental health assessments in a wide range of clinical settings.”
Martin Glen, Investment Director at Parkwalk, commented: “Recent years have shown how important digital health solutions are across the board to help confront the growing challenges facing the healthcare system. Psyomics’ clinical and tech-led assessment tool will help to transform the way mental health is diagnosed and the expansion of their platform within the NHS and to individual patients is a testament to their success. We’re proud to have been working with their team from the early-stages and look forward to seeing Psyomics continue to develop their platform and grow in the years to come.”
