Endomag Queen’s Award win recognises global breast cancer care improvements
Cambridge-based medical technology company Endomag has won the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade as its ability to harness the power of magnetics helps improve breast cancer care globally.
Originally founded in 2007 by professors at University College London and the University of Houston, the heart of the company’s technology platform is the Sentimag localisation system. The system features a probe which works like a metal detector and, when placed near the skin’s surface, is used to detect Endomag’s magnetic seed (Magseed) for accurately removing cancer, or liquid tracer (Magtrace), to understand how a cancer might have spread.
The company’s Magseed marker is now being used in more countries around the world than any other seed device, and is fast becoming the new standard in breast cancer treatment, with improved outcomes from their breast cancer surgery. The Magtrace lymphatic tracer has been developed specifically for sentinel node biopsies and has been called “a real game-changer in the way we treat breast cancer in the United States” by Prof Laura Esserman, a surgeon and director of the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center in San Francisco.
Many of the world’s leading physicians and hospitals use the company’s technologies to help women with breast cancer avoid surgery when it isn’t needed, and experience better outcomes when it is deployed.
Based at the Jeffreys Building on St John’s Innovation Park, and with an office on Austin, Texas, the company now has an impressive trading footprint in North America and has continued to enter new markets in Europe, Asia and Australasia. Endomag’s technologies have helped more than 130,000 women from over 40 countries receive more precise and less invasive cancer treatment.
It is the second time that Endomag has received the royal seal of approval: the first – the Queen’s Award for Innovation – was in 2018. Since then, Endomag has continued to grow rapidly and has also featured twice on the Sunday Times’ FastTrack100 list of the UK’s fastest growing companies. In December 2020, a Series D finance round raised £15m.
Commenting on the award, Endomag’s chief executive officer, Eric Mayes, said: “We feel so privileged to be recognised with a prestigious Queen’s Award for our hard work this year in expanding into other markets. Our technologies have so far been able to help over 130,000 women in over 40 countries. I’m so excited to continue to explore how our magnetic technologies can make a difference for people living with breast cancer.”
Now in its 55th year, the Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are the UK’s most prestigious business awards. A physical ceremony is not being held this year.
