Stem cell business with teeth secures second investment

BioEden, the world’s first specialist tooth stem cell bank, has secured a second round of funding from Finance Yorkshire.

A £200,000 Equity Linked package takes the total invested in the business by Finance Yorkshire to £700,000, and will enable BioEden to make significant investment in direct marketing and advertising.

The business, which has its world headquarters in Huddersfield, is the world’s first banking service for dental stem cells. It was founded in the USA in 2006 and expanded into Europe the following year. By 2013, it had banked more than 25 billion stem cells from children’s milk teeth, and today operates in 21 countries.

BioEden’s mission is to make stem cell therapy accessible and affordable to everyone. The business has recently introduced a pricing model with four membership options, with subscriptions starting from as little as £5 per month.

BioEden Chief Executive Tony Veverka said: “Stem cell therapy isn’t a new concept; it has an established place in medicine and is constantly developing. Dental stem cells in particular have immense potential because they can change into other types of cells and may be used to treat conditions such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s.

“We believe in making this potentially life-saving service accessible for every parent, and this second round of funding from Finance Yorkshire is enabling us to ensure we have the infrastructure in place to implement our new pricing model.”

Specifically, the investment will be used to strengthen BioEden’s management team and its back office infrastructure, in addition to implementing significant marketing and branding activity. This has included the launch of BioKidz, a fun educational tool for children aged 4-9 years about the adventures of the ‘Super Tooth Fairy’.

Finance Yorkshire Investment Director Paul Gower said: “BioEden has so far been very successful in a number of global markets, particularly in Latin America. The funding from Finance Yorkshire, alongside investment from other investors, will enable the business to further raise its profile in the UK and the US. It is committed to engaging with families and children through its new BioKidz app, as well as building relationships with intermediaries such as private health insurers, schools and dental surgeries.

“The process by which the stem cells are extracted is patented by BioEden, so the business is in a very strong position to consolidate its position as the world leader in dental stem cell banking. We anticipate that the new Membership options will go a considerable way towards the ultimate aim of making stem cell therapy an affordable reality for everyone.”

To date, Finance Yorkshire has made 641 investments totalling £80 million.

Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to meet their funding requirements for growth and development.

The project is supported financially by the European Union. It has attracted £30million investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of Europe’s support for the region’s economic development through the Yorkshire and Humber ERDF Programme, £15million from UK Government and £45million match funding from the European Investment Bank.

For more information about Finance Yorkshire, please visit www.finance-yorkshire.com or call 0845 649 0000.

Note: this news article is from Finance Yorkshire’s previous fund. Read more about Finance Yorkshire