Skin Analytics raises  £15M Series B to build a future where nobody dies of skin cancer 

British medtech company Skin Analytics has secured £15 million in Series B funding led by Intrepid Partners.

This investment follows Skin Analytics’ recent EU MDR Class III CE mark approval,  making its technology, DERM, the world’s first legally authorised AI medical device to independently make clinical decisions on skin cancer without human review.

Healthcare systems worldwide buckle under unprecedented dermatologist shortages with patients waiting months for potentially life-saving skin cancer checks.

With an average of only about 30 dermatologists per 1 million population in Europe the scarcity of practitioners is stark particularly when considering that skin-related issues consistently rank among the top 10 reasons for initial doctor visits.

DERM is trained on a very large dataset of images which includes skin cancers, pre-malignant skin conditions and common skin cancer mimics which are harmless but can lead to suspected cancer referrals due to clinician uncertainty. DERM can detect concerning patterns for skin cancer which would not have been visible with the naked eye or ordinary photograph.

Based on this training, DERM can assess moles and skin lesions against the most common skin cancers, pre-malignant and benign skin conditions and provide a triage recommendation, ultimately reserving finite dermatology capacity for patients in greatest need.

DERM can autonomously discharge up to 40 per cent of urgent suspected skin cancer referrals, freeing up scarce specialist resources. It delivers unmatched accuracy, ruling out the most high-risk skin cancers 99.8 per cent of the time, exceeding the 98.9 per cent accuracy of dermatologists. NHS Trusts across England using DERM have reduced unnecessary face-to-face dermatology appointments by up to 95 per cent, easing pressure on overwhelmed health systems.

Skin Analytics has already transformed dermatology within the UK. Its AI medical device has been deployed at 26 NHS sites, where it has been used in pathways that have seen more than 150,000 patients and detected over 14,000 cancers.

Now the firm will use the funding to expand its focus and launch products that cover all dermatology concerns as well as expand internationally to other key markets struggling with dermatologist shortages, such as Europe and Australia. It will also accelerate their move into the US market.

Neil Daly, founder and CEO of Skin Analytics, said: 

"AI allows us to move from a world of specialist scarcity to one where we have the capacity to see everyone who is concerned about their skin.

Starting with skin cancer, this funding allows us to work with our partners to build new models of care that everyone can access, whenever they want to. That brings us closer to a world where no one dies from skin cancer.”

Mark Machin, Co-founder & Managing Partner at Intrepid Growth Partners, commented: 

“At Intrepid Growth Partners, we invest in transformative machine intelligence-driven solutions that address critical challenges, and Skin Analytics exemplifies this vision.

Their technology is redefining early skin cancer detection, improving patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs. We are excited to support their growth as they scale their impact globally.”

Skin Analytics is actively recruiting top-tier AI and healthcare talent, using this funding to attract world-class professionals who want to transform cancer detection forever.

Lead image: Skin Analytics. Photo: uncredited.