A Scottish health tech firm is tapping into an eight-figure investment war chest to deliver rapid European growth.
Microwave treatment pioneer Emblation is on an expansion drive after an injection of capital from specialist healthcare investors, which has already seen an increased headcount of over 50% in the recent months and ongoing fit out of a new HQ in Stirling.
Founders Gary Beale and Eamon McErlean – who met during post-graduate studies at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh – say that having weathered the pandemic, they are now focusing on expanding the company’s success in the huge European market, where its Swift® therapy is less-widely used.
Since launching a radical new treatment device for the podiatry sector in 2016, the Scots firm has enjoyed major success with thousands of practitioners using its microwave technology across the UK, US, Canada and Australia.
Gary Beale, CEO of Emblation, said: “European medical distributors, podiatrists and dermatologists are keen to get their hands on Swift®, which has met rave reviews from experts across existing markets.”
Major new distribution deals, clinical partnerships and other opportunities are close to completion across mainland Europe – spearheaded by recent appointments in Germany, Benelux, France, Switzerland and Greece as well as further afield including Israel and UAE.
Gary added: “One of our key focuses over the next year is to get a serious foothold in Europe and we are making impressive progress on multiple fronts. The commercial team are working tirelessly on making this happen.
“When we recently secured major investment, the goal was to expand into new territories and that means mainland Europe. The success of Swift in the UK, US, Canada and Australia gives us a fantastic platform for this next phase of the company’s growth.
“We are incredibly proud to be a Scottish firm flying the flag in Europe and overcoming the many hurdles posed by both Brexit and the ongoing COVID pandemic. It is a huge testament to the team who have worked so hard to get us here. It is a highly exciting time in Emblation’s evolution.”
Swift, which enables medical experts to resolve persistent common and plantar warts (verrucae) with a simple microwave treatment has won widespread praise and recognition within both the medical and technology arena.
As part of the growth, Emblation has grown its research and development capability to build on promising early results which could result in breakthroughs in the treatment of skin cancers and pre-cancers as well.
Dermatologists are also eager to see Swift rolled out for treatment of a wider range of skin conditions, including pre-cancerous skin lesions where initial studies have shown excellent outcomes.
Established in 2008, Emblation secured major second round investment from Apposite Capital in May 2021 and is currently fitting out a purpose-built, 20,000 sq ft headquarters located at Castle Business Park against the idyllic backdrop of Stirling Castle, due to open later this year.
Currently based in Alloa, headcount at the ambitious clinical technology firm has more than doubled in the last 12 months and there are plans to more than double again over the next 18 months to support the expansion strategy and international brand roll-out.
Emblation was founded with the dual purposes of creating more accessible, reliable and compact medical microwave systems and to develop therapies that could be used in dermatology and podiatry that would overcome the shortfalls in traditional treatments for skin lesions.
