This article covers Eco-Inject, a healthtech startup, which has raised £5.2m in a growth funding round led by Adjuvo to scale a redesigned bio-based autoinjector. The funding will support scaling to commercial manufacture and GMP compliance, targeting pharmaceutical partners, NHS procurement teams and patients by simplifying self-injection and reducing the carbon footprint of disposable autoinjectors.
Eco-Inject, a healthtech startup, has raised £5.2 million in a growth funding round led by Adjuvo to scale a redesigned, bio-based autoinjector that aims to simplify patient self-injection and cut the carbon footprint associated with disposable devices. The funding will be used to move the device into commercial-scale manufacturing and meet GMP regulatory standards.
Autoinjectors are a cornerstone of modern patient-administered therapies, from biologics to the recent surge in GLP-1 prescriptions. More than 500 million autoinjectors are used each year today and the market is projected to reach 2 billion units by 2030. Current market-leading devices are commonly made from 9–11 plastic components, disposed of as medical waste and often incinerated. Eco-Inject’s approach targets both clinical compatibility and environmental impact, a combination that could matter to NHS procurement teams and pharmaceutical manufacturers seeking lower-cost, lower-waste delivery options.
Eco-Inject’s platform is a re-engineered autoinjector designed to work with existing pre-filled syringes, meaning pharmaceutical partners would not need to change fill-finish lines, supply chains, or patient training. The company says the design reduces component count and uses bio-based materials to lower carbon emissions without increasing unit cost.
The funding is earmarked for scaling manufacturing with partners and advancing regulatory compliance to GMP standards, an essential step for device makers supplying to pharmaceutical customers and healthcare systems.
The round was led by Adjuvo and described by the company as over-subscribed. Eco-Inject has not named other participants in the announcement. The lead investor framed the deal as a commercialisation play: Adjuvo’s backing is positioned to help Eco-Inject move from prototype to commercial manufacture and to bring what the investor describes as lower-cost autoinjectors to healthcare providers and patients.
In the announcement, Mark Foster-Brown, CEO at Adjuvo, said:
Eco-Inject is redefining what autoinjectors can be – sustainable, scalable, and ready to meet the demands of today’s healthcare market. Adjuvo is hugely excited to support the team as they commercialise this platform and deliver more cost-effective autoinjectors to healthcare providers and users in everyday care.
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In the announcement, John Palmer-Felgate, Founder & CTO at Eco-Inject, said:
Sustainability isn't our mission. It's our method. We didn't set out to just make a 'green' product. We set out to remove complexity and to select materials that complimented our design from the start. When we removed the complexity, the carbon emissions came out with it. This over-subscribed investment from our investors validates our approach and allows us to deliver a solution that requires no compromises for our pharma and biotech customers.
The founder frames the company’s work as an engineering-first redesign that incidentally yields sustainability benefits, rather than sustainability as the primary market proposition.
This funding sits at the intersection of two clear trends in UK and European healthcare: the growing volume of therapies delivered by patients outside clinics and increasing pressure to reduce the environmental footprint of medical products. For device startups, demonstrating compatibility with existing pharmaceutical manufacturing workflows is often as important as any sustainability claim; Eco-Inject is pitching both.
The deal also signals continued appetite from investors for healthtech device plays that couple manufacturability and regulatory preparedness with cost and carbon advantages. If Eco-Inject can meet GMP requirements and secure pharma partnerships, it could be positioned to supply a market that is expected to expand substantially over the next decade.
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