£4.8m to scale amniotic membrane eye therapy manufacturing for NHS and optometrists
This article covers NuVision Biotherapies, a healthtech startup and University of Nottingham spin-out, which has raised £4.8m in a growth funding round led by the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II via appointed fund manager Mercia Ventures, with participation from the University of Nottingham and Pioneer Group. The funding is intended to scale manufacturing and meet rising demand from NHS centres, private clinics and international markets for NuVision’s amniotic membrane eye-treatment products.
NuVision Biotherapies has raised £4.8m in a growth funding round led by the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II via its appointed fund manager Mercia Ventures, with participation from the University of Nottingham and Pioneer Group. The Nottingham-founded company makes and supplies amniotic membrane products for eye wound healing and plans to use the cash to scale manufacturing, meet rising demand across the NHS and private clinics, and push further into international markets.
Why it matters
Eye injuries and chronic conditions such as dry eye disease create a significant clinical burden and can be hard to treat with standard therapies. NuVision’s products offer a non-pharmaceutical, tissue-based approach that can be used both in operating theatres and in outpatient or optometry settings, potentially changing patient pathways by moving some treatment out of surgery.
The company already supplies more than 160 NHS centres and private clinics in the UK, including Moorfields Eye Hospital, and clinics in 12 countries across Europe, Scandinavia and the Middle East. It has shipped over 15,000 treatments to date, signalling real-world demand for its approach.
Inside the product
NuVision’s technology is centred on amniotic membrane, the tissue that surrounds the fetus. The company sources tissue donated by women undergoing elective Caesarean procedures, processes it to preserve healing properties, and packages it for room-temperature storage. That storage profile is particularly important for distribution and use outside specialist surgical units.
Its two main products are Omnigen, developed for use in operating theatres, and OmniLenz, a specialised contact lens that allows clinicians to deliver amniotic membrane therapy without surgery, extending treatment settings to opticians and outpatient clinics. A combined regimen of Omnigen and OmniLenz has progressed through clinical trials and is being used to treat dry eye disease as well as ulcers, burns, glaucoma-related surface problems and infections.
Who are the investors?
The round was led by the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II through its appointed fund manager Mercia Ventures, and included investments from the University of Nottingham and Pioneer Group.
David Tindall, Investor at British Business Bank, said:
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund II was established to back innovative businesses and industry leaders that create a positive impact in the region. Seeing NuVision return to secure more funding after its successes is a testament to what the Fund stands for. This latest investment will support the business to accommodate growing demand for its products and enter new markets.
Hannah Tapsell Chapman, Partner at Mercia Ventures, said:
NuVision has made huge strides forward over the past few years. From selling solely into surgical units, it now supplies locations ranging from hospitals to high street optometrists. The team has shipped over 15,000 treatments and expanded to multiple markets across Europe and the Middle East. This latest funding will enable it to continuing building momentum and scale up manufacturing.
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Founder perspective
NuVision was founded in 2015 by Andy Hopkinson as a University of Nottingham spin-out. The company manufactures at a Nottingham facility and emphasises an ethics-driven supply chain, using tissue donated during elective Caesarean deliveries and a process designed to retain therapeutic properties while allowing practical storage and distribution.
Noel Waters, COO at NuVision Biotherapies, said:
This round of funding will enable the proven benefits of treatment with amniotic membrane to be made available to those patients with damage to their eyes caused by traumatic injury or following eye surgery and transform the lives of people living with chronic eye conditions like dry eye disease. Our goal is to see treatment using our products become a global standard of care in ophthalmology and optometry.
The bigger picture
The deal underscores continued investor interest in UK healthtech that combines clinical evidence with scalable manufacturing. NuVision’s move from a surgical-only model towards outpatient and optometry channels is an example of how device and tissue therapies can broaden access to treatment and potentially reduce pressure on secondary care.
Challenges remain: scaling manufacture while maintaining supply chain ethics, and navigating regulatory requirements across different countries. If NuVision can address those, it may accelerate adoption of tissue-based ophthalmic treatments outside specialist centres.
This funding round is another sign that regional funds and university spin-outs remain important drivers of healthtech innovation in the UK, with implications for export growth and clinical pathways across Europe.
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