About the Guest
Antony Odell is the co-founder and CEO of Echopoint Medical, a London-based UCL spinout developing the iKOr microcatheter for coronary diagnostics. He brings over 30 years of medtech experience across Johnson & Johnson, Fresenius, and Stryker, before transitioning into startups as CEO of Tayside Flow Technologies and Tissue Regenix. Antony holds a BSc in Physiology and Biochemistry.
Interview Summary
With over 30 years in medtech, Antony has built and scaled medical device companies across multiple therapeutic areas.
Around 40% of patients who undergo a standard angiogram show no blockages in their major vessels, yet continue experiencing symptoms. Many of these patients have a coronary microvascular disease known as ANOCA (Angina with Non-Obstructive Coronary Arteries). Women are five times more likely to be affected, and most leave the cath lab without a diagnosis or a clear next step.
The iKOr system gives cardiologists a simple, intuitive way to measure coronary microvascular metrics. The original UCL prototype was, in Antony's words, "a box with wires coming out of it — something from Frankenstein's lab." Translating that into a reproducible, clinically meaningful device took years of deliberate work.
Echopoint raised approximately £5.9 million in equity alongside non-dilutive grants that funded a 10-patient first-in-human study at Barts Health in London. The company is preparing its FDA 510(k) submission with clearance targeted for 2027. Echopoint has also secured a place on the HeartX Accelerator, and is collaborating with its first U.S. clinical site at Baptist Health in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Top Takeaways
Assessing an academic idea means testing it against clinical reality. Academics are optimized for papers, not commercial timelines. The clearest signal that an idea is ready to spin out is when inventors have already tested it with practicing clinicians. From there, the CEO’s job is to extract that knowledge from the institution and translate it into technology that can reliably produce clinical data.
Choose early clinical sites for learning, not speed. Certain geographies can accelerate timelines, but that may come with tradeoffs that are underappreciated. An established academic center will often cost more and move more slowly, but will likely deliver high-quality clinical insights that enhance fundraising credibility. Either way, your goal should be to avoid groupthink — stay close enough to learn, but independent enough to challenge assumptions.
Non-dilutive funding is a permanent discipline, not an early-stage hack. Keep a grant tracker as a standing board agenda item and pursue non-dilutive capital at every stage. But screen opportunities against two questions: does the reporting burden justify the award, and does it detract from your commercial objectives? When using consultants, insist on success-based fees — no skin in the game, no real motivation.
An early-stage CEO should actively manage information, boundaries, and team evolution. Investors have one core question: is capital being deployed as intended? Report against that, in terms they understand, and don’t shy away from surfacing bad news early. Protect the boundary between board strategy and execution. And expect your operational team to evolve over time. Generalists are essential early on, but as the company scales, specialists may be better fits.
Sponsors
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