Endomagnetics Ltd (commonly Endomag) is a British

medical device A medical device is any device intended to be used for medical purposes. Significant potential for hazards are inherent when using a device for medical purposes and thus medical devices must be proved safe and effective with reasonable assura ...

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or Production (economics), production of goods with the help of equipment, Work (human activity), labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of the secondary se ...

, headquartered in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. The company was founded in 2007 and produces surgical guidance products which assist

surgeon In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

s in locating and removing

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

ous tumors, predominantly for

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

surgery. The company's products are distributed by

Leica Biosystems Leica Biosystems, founded 1872 as Precision Engineering, is a medical devices company that develops and supplies clinical diagnostics to the pathology market. It is also a research, instrument, and medical device company as well as a division of ...

in North America and

Sysmex Corporation is a Japanese company headquartered in Kobe that is engaged in the health care business. Originally called TOA Medical Electronics (a branch of the TOA Corporation), the Sysmex brand was established in 1978, and were mainly involved with haemato ...

across

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. Since 2024, Endomag is a subsidiary of

Hologic Hologic, Inc. is an American medical technology company primarily focused on women's health; it sells medical devices for diagnostics, surgery, and medical imaging. History In late November 2013, activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed a 12.5 ...

. The company's location at

Cambridge Science Park The Cambridge Science Park, founded by Trinity College, Cambridge, Trinity College in 1970, is the oldest science park in the United Kingdom. It is a concentration of science and technology related businesses, and has strong links with the nea ...

is central to Silicon Fen, the cluster of

high-tech High technology (high tech or high-tech), also known as advanced technology (advanced tech) or exotechnology, is technology that is at the cutting edge: the highest form of technology available. It can be defined as either the most complex or ...

businesses in the area which form one of the most important technology centres in Europe.

History

Endomag was founded in 2007 as Endomagnetics Ltd as a

University spin-off University spin-offs (also known as university spin-outs) are companies that transform technological inventions developed from university research that are likely to remain unexploited otherwise. They are a subcategory of research spin-offs. Prom ...

from

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

and the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

. Helped by initial

seed money Seed money, also known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor puts capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' suggest ...

from

UCL Business UCL Business Ltd is the technology-transfer company of University College London in London, England. Its head office is on Tottenham Court Road in the London Borough of Camden. History UCL's first technology-transfer company was named in th ...

, Endomag has continued to develop its

magnetic Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that occur through a magnetic field, which allows objects to attract or repel each other. Because both electric currents and magnetic moments of elementary particles give rise to a magnetic field, m ...

sensing technologies to improve

minimally invasive procedures Minimally invasive procedures (also known as minimally invasive surgeries) encompass surgical techniques that limit the size of incisions needed, thereby reducing wound healing time, associated pain, and risk of infection. Surgery by definition ...

for

oncologists Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''� ...

. In June 2014, the company acquired the magnetic hyperthermia assets of the US-based Actium Biosystems. In 2015, the company moved offices from

to its current headquarters at The Jeffrey's Building on the St John's Innovation Park. The office was opened by Lord Sainsbury. In July 2018, the company announced a further round of

venture capital Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to start-up company, startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in ...

funding, a

Series C A venture round is a type of funding round used for venture capital financing, by which startup companies obtain investment, generally from venture capitalists and other institutional investors. The availability of venture funding is among the p ...

for $10m (£8m) led by

Draper Esprit Molten Ventures, formerly Draper Esprit, is a British venture capital firm, investing in high growth technology companies with global ambitions. The firm has offices in London, Cambridge and Dublin. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and ...

, the European arm of

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

investor,

Tim Draper Timothy Cook Draper (born June 11, 1958) is an American venture capital investor, and founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ),

's venture capital business. In April 2024, American medical device manufacturer

agreed to acquire Endomag for $310 million. The acquisition completed in July that year.

Technologies

Endomag's Sentimag probe is a sensitive

magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

which detects either an implantable magnetic marker, Magseed, or an injectable superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle tracer, branded Magtrace. The Magseed marker is placed in a tumor under imaging guidance prior to surgery, and located and removed during surgery. The company's

probe can indicate the distance from the Magseed marker, which helps guide the surgical excision of the cancerous tumor. The Magtrace liquid marker is injected near the tumor prior to surgery and migrates to the

lymph nodes A lymph node, or lymph gland, is a kidney-shaped Organ (anatomy), organ of the lymphatic system and the adaptive immune system. A large number of lymph nodes are linked throughout the body by the lymphatic vessels. They are major sites of lymphoc ...

draining the primary tumour, the so-called ‘sentinel’ nodes. These can then be detected and excised during a sentinel lymph node biopsy procedure. The company's products are a radiation-free alternative for

surgeons In medicine, a surgeon is a medical doctor who performs surgery. Even though there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon is a licensed physician and received the same medical training as physicians before spec ...

. Endomag's Magseed marker product has received

FDA The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

510(k) The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (abbreviated as FFDCA, FDCA, or FD&C) is a set of laws passed by the United States Congress in 1938 giving authority to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the safety of ...

clearance for localizing tumors in soft tissue in 2016 and its Magtrace and Sentimag Magnetic Localization System received FDA premarket approval (PMA) in 2018 to identify and remove sentinel lymph nodes in women undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer.

Awards

The company has won a number of business, engineering and science awards since its inception. In 2015, the company was shortlisted for the

MacRobert Award The MacRobert Award is regarded as the leading prize recognising UK innovation in engineering by corporations. The winning team receives a gold medal and a cash sum of £50,000. The annual award process begins with an invitation to companies to ...

, a leading UK engineering award. The following year saw Endomag awarded with an

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based not-for-profit learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, physics research, research and applied physics, application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide ...

Commended Innovation award. In 2018, Endomag received a

Queen's Awards for Enterprise The King's Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen's Award for Enterprise, is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting oppor ...

in the Innovation category. In July 2018, the company was presented this award by

Julie Spence Julie Spence, is a retired British police officer and activist. She served as the Chief Constable for Cambridgeshire Constabulary from 10 December 2005 to 5 September 2010, and made headline news over demanding fairer funding due to the rise in m ...

OBE, the current

Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire. The title Lord Lieutenant is given to the British monarch's personal representative in the counties of the United Kingdom. Lord Lieutenants are supported by an appointe ...

. In October 2018 the company received a Business Innovation Award from the

for its use of magnetism for minimally invasive surgical guidance.

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://www.endomag.com Companies based in Cambridge Medical technology companies of the United Kingdom Medical device manufacturers 2024 mergers and acquisitions