Martlet Capital is a Cambridge-based, early stage investor and one of our earliest backers. In this short Q&A series, we asked Peter McPartland, Investment Director at Martlet Capital, what first attracted him to Kalium Health and what he is most excited about.
Why were you first attracted to Kalium Health?
We were particularly attracted to the company’s patient-first approach. Kalium Health has designed a solution to a clear problem facing millions of patients – there is a critical need for more effective remote patient management within renal care.
The company also met our core criteria which includes having a technical innovation that is hard to replicate, exceptional IP, and a strong team with complementary skills. These are some of the factors that we see as key ingredients for rapid growth in our key sectors.
Importantly, the team started by identifying a clear and urgent unmet clinical need and have developed technology specifically to address it, demonstrating a deep understanding of stakeholder needs to guide product development and commercial strategy. This puts them at an advantage over other companies who either struggle to find compelling applications for their technology or risk building products that don’t satisfy both users and payers.
What are you most excited about?
Kalium Health has met a series of major milestones since we first invested in 2020, from advancing product development to attracting industry partnerships.
We’re very excited about plans for US expansion as the company moves closer to commercialising its technology. There is a clear opportunity to use the US as a launch market and I’m confident that the team have the capabilities to make the most of it. The recent announcement of several senior industry leaders joining the Board and Advisory Board is fantastic news too and underlines the excitement we are seeing within the sector for what Kalium can achieve.
What has it been like as an investor in Kalium?
As an investor, we focus on backing world class ideas and businesses with exceptional founders, and seek to provide portfolio companies with value beyond capital. The founding team are a pleasure to work with - they have made great use of our expertise, insights and network and have a collaborative approach that means stakeholders are kept up to date with product development and commercialisation progress.
I also got to know the team well ahead of Martlet Capital’s investment, through my previous work as part of the Seed Funds team at Cambridge Enterprise. I’ve enjoyed seeing their progress accelerating to this point where the company is poised to make an impact internationally.
The launch of Kalium Health’s latest funding round is a key moment for the business and we look forward to working with like-minded medtech investors who can add value in Kalium Health’s major markets during this exciting phase of growth.
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