It is still about platforms, isn’t it? Cambridge-based Evonetix has closed its $54 Series B to advance its platform to generate complex libraries and assemble long DNA sequences in days rather than weeks (tip: thermally-controlled reaction sites on novel silicon chips). More on platforms, but this time going up north. Strong week for the Scotland. In Glasgow, Dxcover Limited has raised £9.7 million Series A (liquid biopsies, indeed), and Phlo has secured £10 million Series A. The Scottish Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre has received £25 million in investment for its skills programmes and Edinburgh-based Nodus Oncology has raised £2.4 million to develop its PARG-targeting programs. Not going too far away from targeting the DNA damage response. Adrestia Therapeutics has partnered with A-T Children’s Project, AT Society and Action for A-T to form the Ataxia Telangiectasia Research Consortium. Some are just starting, others are getting acquired, the cycle of life. Kitt Medical has launched to improve the standard of allergy care in public spaces and OKRA.ai, an award-winning artificial intelligence technology company, has been acquired by Envision Pharma Group. The Smart Protein Fund has launched thanks to Milltrust International Group and Earth First Food Ventures. Vaccitech and ValiRx have appointed new CSO, and so has done Enara Bio —welcome Joseph Dukes— with the support from RA Capital, Samsara Biocapital and SV Health Investors. Prof Adrian Hayday has joined the Scientific Advisory Board of Prokarium as the company raises $30 million Series B to develop microbial immunotherapy for oncology indications. Quick trip to the US. The Food and Drug Administration has granted a Rare Paediatric Disease Designation to SynaptixBio for its drug candidate to treat TUBB4a leukodystrophy, and Adaptix has achieved 510(k) clearance. Back in the UK, the B-word keeps on giving: Oxbridge (but not only) sees EU research grants plummeting in the past two years and the number of European applicants seems to be following identical trend. More on this in the Podcasts and Interesting Readingssection. Also, interesting content about LifeArc and its role of as medical research charity fuelling excellent research, the FT’s Big Read on academic spinouts, and a piece from Caetano Reis e Sousa. Beyond Biotech guest stars: Michel Barnier, the one and only, Coldplay, Rory Stewart and Alistair Campbell. Let’s dive in!

Cambridge-based Evonetix has raised a $24 million financing round. The investment was led by Foresite Capital and participated in by Molten Ventures, Morningside, DCVC, Cambridge Consultants, Civilization Ventures and Providence. This brings Evonetix's total Series B funding to over $54 million. Evonetix has developed a proprietary DNA synthesis process which takes place on a novel silicon chip with thousands of independent, thermally-controlled reaction sites. This technology gives Evonetix a unique position to accelerate synthetic biology research, due to its ability to generate complex libraries and assemble long DNA sequences in days, rather than weeks. The proceeds of the round will be used to advance the company's DNA synthesis chip technology to commercial scale and expand its applications across many industries. Evonetix was founded in 2015 and is led by Colin McCracken (CEO) with Paul Bestall as Chair of the Board. The company is also backed by Hermann Hauser, PhD, OBE, co-founder of Arm and Amadeus Capital Partners.

London-based Prokarium has raised $30 million Series B. The round was led by Flerie Invest. The company is developing microbial immunotherapy for oncology indications. The proceeds of the round will support the clinical development of its lead oncology candidate in non-muscle invasive bladder cancer and accelerate platform discovery. It aims to leverage its proprietary strain of Salmonella in combination to synthetic circuits to deliver therapeutic cargo in a way that induces immune-driven, long-lasting antitumour effects. Prokarium has partnered with US-based Ginkgo Bioworks to leverage their Foundry and Codebase to develop a bactofection platform technology to deliver diverse therapeutic cargo for difficult-to-treat cancers. In addition, Prof Adrian Hayday, PhD and Sam Chang, MD have joined as Scientific Advisors.

Glasgow-based Dxcover Limited has raised £9.7 million Series A. The round was led by existing investors Eos Advisory LLP, Mercia Asset Management PLC (from Mercia EIS Funds and Mercia Knowledge Intensive Impact Fund), Scottish Enterprise, University of Strathclyde, SIS Ventures and Norcliffe Capital. Mark Bamforth (Thairm Bio) also joined the round as Dxcover continues to develop its US network. In addition, the company has been awarded a £2.2 million grant from the European Innovation Council to support the ongoing development of their Dxcover’s Liquid Biopsy Platform. Dxcover is a clinical-stage diagnostics company developing spectroscopic liquid biopsy technology for early detection of multiple cancers. The company is developing infrared spectroscopy of circulating pan-omic biomarkers. The funding will enable the company to expand their data on colorectal cancer and continue work on collaborative projects, with the goal of detecting cancer early and improving survival and quality of life for patients. Dxcover span out from the University of Strathclyde’s Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry in February 2019.

Glasgow-based Phlo has raised £10 million in its Series A round, led by Thairm Bio and participated in by Scottish Enterprise and several angel investors. The funding will be used to support the company's expansion across the UK, providing same-day medication deliveries, digital pharmacy API integration, and reminders when medication is due to run out. Patients can track their deliveries on a smartphone app. Phlo offers one-off and repeat prescription deliveries from both the NHS and private healthcare providers. In 2020, the company also raised a £2m crowdfunding campaign.

London-based Doctify has raised a $10 million investment. The round was led by Beringea and included participation from Keen Venture Partners, Amadeus Capital Partners, and Guinness Ventures. The company provides transparent and reliable reviews of medical professionals to patients and healthcare providers. It currently serves over 50 million patients globally and is aiming to double its reach by 2025. Doctify interacts with 25,000 healthcare providers worldwide, including Cleveland Clinic (US) and Mayo Clinic (London).

Bath-based Kelpi has raised 3 million seed funding. The round was co-led by Science Creates Ventures and Green Angel Syndicate, and participated by Bristol Private Equity Club, One Planet Capital and several angel investors. The funding includes a £665,000 grant from Innovate UK's Combined Investor Partnership. The company is developing technology to create biomaterial coatings from seaweed, which will enable recyclable and compostable packaging to replace single-use fossil fuel plastics. The company will use the funds to conduct manufacturing pilots for their coatings, which can match or even exceed the performance of fossil fuel plastic, while being renewably sourced, marine-safe, and compostable.

Nottingham-based Selentus Science has raised investment (financial details not disclosed). The round was led by Pioneer Group. Selentus is developing TenaTac, a medical device that controls bleeding during a surgical procedure while reducing the risk of post-operative haemorrhage. Pioneer Group invested and exited Haemostatix, Ben Nichols’ (CEO) previous venture.

Edinburgh-based Nodus Oncology has raised £2.4 million in investment. The round was led by KHAN Technology Transfer Fund I and the existing investor Cumulus Oncology. The funding will be used to accelerate the development of Nodus’ PARG programme and expand its portfolio of molecules targeting DNA damage response targets. The portfolio targets patient sub-groups where molecular vulnerabilities exist. The company was founded in September 2022 following the acquisition of Basilea Pharmaceutica’s PARG programme. In addition, Bert Klebl (Managing Director of KHAN-I) is joining the Board of Directors.

Bristol-based Extracellular has raised funding from Newland Syndicate. The company is currently backed by Big Idea Ventures. Extracellular is a manufacturing partner supporting the cultivated meat industry. The company is working to accelerate progress in cultivated meat and enable efficient production.

London-based Amber Therapeutics has raised a seed funding round (financial details not disclosed). The investment was participated by Oxford Science Enterprises and 8VC. Amber is developing bioelectrical therapies to improve clinical outcomes for patients with functional disorders of the peripheral nervous system, using closed-loop intelligence to create 'synthetic reflex arcs' that can sense, interpret, adapt and respond to a patient's individual signals to restore normal physiological function. The company was span out the University of Oxford in 2021.

London-based Syndi Health has raised £1.7 million pre-seed funding for its digital mental health platform for employees. The rpund was participated by Founders Factory, Plug and Play, the Syndicate Room Access Fund, Neo Kuma Ventures, Remus Capital and several angel investors. The company has also been awarded a £400,000 Innovate UK grant. Its platform uses artificial intelligence to advise on well-being support to employees and insurers. This technology will be trialled within the NHS in Cornwall and Plymouth.

Carbon13 has announced the investment in 12 startup aiming to mitigate CO2e emissions following completion of its Venture Builder Program. Each startup has received £120,000 pre-seed investment. The startups in the biotech vertical are: Apleum (liquid biofuels from organic waste), Bravely Cultured (novel marine yeast to produce sustainable food), NatureBound (regenerating the biodiversity underpinning the food system).

Oxford-based Cardiac Tech has been awarded a Biomedical Catalyst grant from Innovate UK. The company is developing novel technology for temporary cardiac pacing aiming to substantially improve patient outcome and mortality post-cardiac surgery. The grant will fund a major phase of product design, moving the project closer to clinical use. The grant will be used to develop the company's remote capabilities and cloud-based platform.

Bedfordshire-based MIP Discovery has been awarded a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and deploy animal/cell-free detection reagents. These reagents will enable low-cost, high-volume diagnostic tests for low and middle-income countries during endemic or pandemic outbreaks. The project will leverage the company's imprinted polymer technology to reduce current timelines. It aims to allow design and scale up of novel detection reagents in under four weeks, and to tackle multiple diagnostic markers simultaneously while still achieving the volumes needed for mass scale diagnostics.

London-based Mint Neurotechnologies has been awarded a £1.4M grant from the National Institute for Health and Care Research. The Invention for Innovation Product Development Award will be used to develop a wireless intracranial neuromonitoring device to improve care for people with drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). Epilepsy affects approximately 600,000 people in the UK and a third can be diagnosed with DRE. The project is led by Prof Timothy Constandinou and Dr Antonio Valentín, and involves a partnership between Imperial College London, King's College London, and MintNeuro.

London-based Kitt Medical has launched to improve the standard of allergy care. The company has developed an emergency anaphylaxis treatment kit that is distributed alongside medical training and an incident reporting system. Kitt is an all-in-one anaphylaxis prevention and treatment system designed for public places, operating similar to a defibrillator.

Envision Pharma Group has acquired OKRA.ai, an award-winning artificial intelligence technology company, to strengthen their offerings to clients across the product. Envision provides integrated medical capabilities and data analytics to the life sciences industry. The acquisition will bring the total number of Envision Pharma Group employees to 1400+ across four continents. Based in UK and the Netherlands, OKRA.ai’s AI products translate large clinical, scientific, and commercial data sets into actionable insights.

Cancer Research UK, the NIHR and The Little Princess Trust have partnered to provide £47.5 million over the next five years to Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMC). The funding will be distributed between 17 adult ECMCs (£40.8 million) and 12 paediatric ECMCs (£6.7 million) across the UK to help generate new treatments for cancer. The grants will help employ new research staff, including nurses and data managers, to deliver clinical trials and bring the latest scientific discoveries from the lab into the clinic, giving people affected by cancer renewed hope for the future.

Milltrust International Group and Earth First Food Ventures have partnered to launch the Smart Protein Fund. The fund will invest in sustainable food innovations such as precision fermentation, cultivated meat, and plant-based proteins. This market could represent a $500 billion investment opportunity over the next 15 years, with alternative proteins predicted to capture 11% of the global protein market by 2035. Milltrust and Earth First are aiming to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by investing in these sustainable food solutions.

BGF has set out plans to invest £300 million in early-stage and fast growth businesses across the Central and Eastern areas of England over the next five years. The investment will be targeted at scaleups and will be managed by a team of three experienced investors based in Cambridge led by Mark Nunny. BGF has already invested close to £240 million in the region.

The Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) in Scotland has received £25 million in investment for its skills programmes. The investment is part of Scotland's National Plan for Industrial Biotechnology, which aims to create more than 4,000 direct jobs in the sector by 2025. IBioIC's skills programmes bridge the gap between academic study and the jobs market. The program was launched in 2014 and has welcomed more than 450 students and over 80 biotech startups.

Panacea Starts, the Panacea Innovation’s technology translation, commercialisation and R&D arm, is welcomingapplications to the program. It invites early-stage teams with a scientific proposition and/or a provisional business plan to compete for a £100K-worth non-dilutive prize package and access mentorship, curriculum, occasional working space, and support in developing a tailored pipeline strategy.

The UK Research and Innovation has launched the Biotech Business Incubation Centre (Bio BIC) to support biotech startups in the north-west. It is a 5-year programme that provides up to £90,000access to R&D facilities, IP protection, business coaching, and introductions to investors and potential customers.

Cambridge University Health Partners (CUHP) has launched a Vision for Life Sciences Strategy in collaboration with key partners to brand Cambridgeshire as a globally competitive destination for health and life sciences. The strategy is split into five pillars: place, talent, network, funding and data. The initiative will focus on life sciences, agri-tech, digital & information technologies, and advanced manufacturing & materials.

The Government has launched a new department focused on Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT). It will be headed by Michelle Donelan, former Head of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. The new department has been met with positive reactions from industry representatives, and will be responsible for the Online Safety Bill and the semiconductor strategy.

Cambridge-based Artios Pharma has initiated a Phase 2 randomized trial for their ATR inhibitor (ART0380). The trial will evaluate monotherapy and a combination arm with gemcitabine for the treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. This follows the successful Phase 1 dose escalation, which showed a favorable safety and tolerability profile, clinical activity, and preferred pharmacokinetics with ART0380 in advanced solid tumors. ART0380 is a small molecule, oral inhibitor of ATR—a master regulator of DNA replication stress response. The drug was originally in-licensed by Artios from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and ShangPharma Innovation in 2019.

Cambridge-based Adrestia Therapeutics has partnered with A-T Children’s Project, AT Society and Action for A-Tto form the Ataxia Telangiectasia Research Consortium (ATRC). ****Ataxia telangiectasia (AT) is an inherited, fatal disorder primarily driven by mutations in the ATM gene, which is involved in DNA damage repair. ATRC will aim to develop disease-modifying drugs for fatal neurodegenerative paediatric diseases caused by an inability to repair DNA damage. Adrestia will lead the identification of 'synthetic rescue' targets and the potential development of new drugs to correct the underlying disease biology. Currently, there are no corrective therapies for AT.

Oxford-based SynaptixBio has been granted a Rare Pediatric Disease Designation (RPD) by the US Food and Drug Administration for its drug candidate to treat TUBB4a leukodystrophy. TUBB4a leukodystrophy is caused by a mutation in the TUBB4A gene. The disease disrupts myelin surrounding nerves, leading to interruption of the signals between nerve cells in the brain. Achieving RPD is the first step to gaining a priority review voucher (PRV) that could accelerate market access and potentially fund ongoing drug development. SynaptixBio has also entered into a sponsored research agreement with the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to develop a TUBB4a leukodystrophy treatment from antisense oligonucleotides.

The UK Department for International Trade has announced the Life Sciences Innovator 2023 Awards. This year, the winers are distributed across six categories: Crescendo Biologics (Biopharma & Vaccines), Seda Pharmaceutical Development Services (Application, Product and Service), SureScreeen Diagnostics (Diagnostics and Precision Medicine), Pangea (Digital Solutions), MoM (Medical Technologies), and Fabrx Pharmaceutical 3D Printing(Medicines Development and Delivery).

Cambridge-based Isogenica has entered into a technology license agreement with Arvinas (NASDAQ: ARVN) to expand its PROTAC Platform. Arvinas will make use of Isogenica's CIS Display technology to progress and broaden its PROTAC platform. The licensing deal between Arvinas and Isogenica validates the latter's proprietary display platform. Isogenica specializes in small format antibody (VHH) discovery and optimization. Arvinas is a leading clinical-stage biotechnology company developing targeted protein degradation therapeutics for oncology and neuroscience targets.

A novel diagnostic technology developed by Barts Health and University College London has begun clinical testing at London's St Bartholomew's Hospital. The iKOr device measures blood flow around the heart to detect issues with the cardiac microvasculature. Current angiograms typically do not show these vessels, which challenges accurate diagnosis. Echopoint Medical commercialises the iKOr technology in partnership with Barts Health. The company has raised £2.3 million in equity from Albion Capital and Parkwalk, and £1.8 million in grants from Innovate UK. The company is currently raising a Series A and welcomes investment interest.

The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult has announced its involvement in the development of a major new life sciences campus in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, which is expected to bring £900 million of new investment, 1.4 million sq ft of laboratory and office facilities, and up to 5,000 new jobs. The CGT Catapult has already established the largest cell and gene therapy cluster in Europe in the UK, and this agreement will ensure that the CGT Catapult remains within the Stevenage campus and provides the potential for further expansion.

London-based Amber Therapeutics has begun trials for its bioelectronic implant to treat incontinence. The company is developing Picostim-DyNeuMo, a system that uses a closed-loop neuromodulation to restore bladder function. The therapy that involves implanting a device in the patient’s pelvic region which can sense, interpret, adapt and respond to individual patient signals. Then, an adaptive algorithm is activated and runs continuously in an at-home setting to modulate the nerve that controls continence. The company was span out of the University of Oxford and is currently backed by Oxford Science Enterprises, 8VC and a UKRI Biomedical Catalyst.

Oxford-based Adaptix has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration. This allows the company to market its 3D imaging technology, which is capable of delivering fast, lower-cost X-ray imaging at the point of patient care with a fraction of the radiation dose and per-study price of traditional CT scanning systems, in the US. Adaptix is a Downing portfolio company.

Bristol-based OKKO Health has been re-certified in ISO13485 quality assurance. The company is developing digital biomarkers of the eye by tracking visual interactions with smart devices. The company raised £2 million pre-seed round bed by Dieter von Holtzbrinck Ventures to support the launch of its eye health monitoring app in Germany.

London-based ProtonDx's Dragonfly Respiratory Panel has been approved for sale in the UK under the Medical Devices (Coronavirus Test Device Approvals) Regulations 2021. Dragonfly provides a rapid and portable point‑of‑care molecular test that identifies multiple common respiratory pathogens. UK approval follows CE-IVD mark.

Hampton-based Touchlight’s enzymatic doggybone DNA technology has achieved a significant milestone. The US Food and Drug Administration is now accepting Drug Master Files (DMF) for GMP grade dbDNA. It marks the first time a DMF has been accepted for an enzymatically produced DNA platform. Touchlight’s dbDNA is a minimal, linear, double stranded, covalently closed DNA vector which is produced through an enzymatic process and can accommodate genes of up to at least 20kb.

London-based Complement Therapeutics (CTx) has announced the enrollment of the first patient in a natural history study (i-GAIN) of people with geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The i-GAIN study is designed to evaluate the relationship between genetics, blood biomarkers, and phenotypic changes in the eye of people with GA. It will also support the development of CTx001, CTx's lead gene therapy asset for the treatment of GA. The study is expected to enroll approximately 250 patients across 12 sites in the UK.

Oxford-based Orbit Discovery has entered a multi-target collaboration agreement with US-based Endevica Bio. Endevica is developing first-in-class therapeutics for cachexia caused by cancer and other chronic condition. The collaboration aims to accelerate Endevica’s lead compound progression, which is designed to target G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Endevica will leverage Orbit’s proprietary platform. It allows for peptide sequences to be screened using a combination of bead-based DNA encoded libraries and microfluidic droplet screening.

Cambridge-based Babraham Research Campus Collaboration Fund is supporting a collaboration between Stemnovate and Babraham Insitute senior group leader Dr Nick Ktistakis. The project aims to become a proof-of-principle to understand the connection between autophagy and neurodegeneration, creating a cell-based model that can be used to identify new targets for drug development.

Chesire-based Medicines Discovery Catapult has published a piece in Nature Research (Custom Media) on how collaboration reshapes UK drug discovery and the role the company is playing in the ecosystem.

Oxford-based Enara Bio has appointed Joseph Dukes as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr Dukes joined Enara Bio in September 2019 as Vice President, Translational Sciences and has previously served as Vice President, Head of Research. Prior to joining Enara, he was Head of Preclinical Biology and Director, Head of Biology at Immunocore. Enara is backed by RA Capital, Samsara Biocapital and SV Health Investors. It is developing cancer immunotherapies such as bispecific T-cell engagers, adoptive cell therapies and cancer vaccines designed to treat broad patient populations. Enara’s proprietary EDAPT platform enables the discovery of Dark Antigens, a novel source of shared, tumour-specific T cell targets derived from genomic dark matter.

Oxford-headquartered Vaccitech (NASDAQ: VACC) has appointed Nadège Pelletier, PhD as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr Pelletier will bring extensive experience in the areas of immunology, inflammation and infectious diseases from her previous roles at Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research, Roche Pharma Research & Early Development, Merck-Serono and the Scripps Research Institute. She will lead Vaccitech’s scientific teams as well as build and oversee the strategic technical direction of the company. Dr Pelletier will replace Tom Evans, PhD, who is retiring but will remain as a scientific consultant. Vaccitech is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel T cell immunotherapeutics for chronic infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.

Warwickshire-based ValiRx has appointed Dr Cathy Tralau-Stewart as Chief Scientific Officer after being interim CSO over the past few months. Dr Tralau-Stewart will focus on developing a risk-balanced, collaborative, preclinical pipeline and support the company strategically. She will also support the company strategically through membership of the executive team and as a Board observer.

Cambridge-based Ieso Digital Health has appointed Dave Icke, MBA as Executive Chair. He is an advisor to Takeda Digital Ventures and was previously Vice President of Digital Health Product at Humana. Before that, he launched the Digital Health business at Becton Dickinson for chronic disease self-management and was CEO at mc10 (which was acquired by Medidata). In his new role, Icke will collaborate to expand Ieso's reach, ensuring more individuals have access to quality mental healthcare. The company is developing AI-driven, evidence-based mental health solutions.

London-based AviadoBio has appointed Jeff Goater, MBA as chair of the Board of Directors. Goater is Venture Partner at The Column Group and is currently the Executive Chair at Judo Bio, and member of the Board at Kallyope. AviadoBio is developing gene therapy for neurodegenerative disorders including frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Cheshire-based Infex Therapeutics has appointed Prof Colm Leonard as a Non-Executive Director. Prof Cold will also chair Infex’s clinical development committee. He joined Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust as a Consultant, Thoracic Physician (2000) and in 2019 became Honorary Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre. He is a leading global expert on antimicrobial resistance and since 2016 has been the clinical lead for the UK Antimicrobial Novel Value Assessment and Reimbursement Project.

Oxford Science Enterprises has appointed Sanne de Jongh as Partner, Life Sciences. de Jongh will work sourcing and structuring new spin-out opportunities from the University of Oxford and support the firm's existing life sciences portfolio. Sanne joins from specialist transatlantic investor Gilde Healthcare and brings extensive venture capital (Anterra Capital, M ventures), early-stage investment and company creation experience.

Stevenage-based NRG Therapeutics has appointed Gilles Ouvry PhD as Vice President of Chemistry. Dr Ouvry will work to develop potential first-in-class brain-penetrant small molecule inhibitors of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore as treatments for Parkinson's and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Dr Ouvry joins from Evotec and brings 20 years of international medicinal chemistry experience (Galderma, AstraZeneca and SCYNEXIS) to the role.

London-based Vivan Therapeutics has appointed Pamela Frank, MBA as Vice President of Business Development. Frank is Advisor for CureMatch Inc (US), MORE Health Inc (US), and Phelcom (Brazil). She will contribute to Vivan by helping to introduce the company’s personalised cancer treatment direction tools to clinicians and patients, currently focused on colorectal cancer. Vivan is a spinout of Ichan School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai’s Personal Discovery Process.

London-based Sania Therapeutics has appointed Anna Dreismann, PhD as Advisor. Dr Dreismann specialises in early-stage gene therapy tenchologies. She is also Advisor for Purespring Therapeutics. In the past, she was Group Leader at Gyroscope Therapeutics. Sania Therapeutics is developing gene therapies targeting neural circuits to treat neurological diseases.

London-based RQ Bio has appointed Hayden Selvadurai, PhD as Head of Portfolio Management. Prior to joining RQ Bio, Dr Salvadurai was Director of Corporate Development at Enara Bio, where he held various directorship positions. RQ Bio is developing treatments and preventative therapies based on potent broad-spectrum mAbs to provide instant and long-lasting immunity for vulnerable people.

London-headquartered Kadans Science Partner has further expanded into Grange Court at Abingdon Science Park(Oxfordshire). Kadans will reposition the asset to provide 20,000 sq ft of laboratory and office space (available from Q3 2023) and will rename the building to Sovereign House. In addition, it will deliver Barton House in 2023.

Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst has welcomed Genevation LTD into its Lab Hotel. Genevation is developing personalised RNA-based cancer vaccines in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and Illumina.

Warwickshire-headquartered ValiRx Plc (LON: VAL) has agreed on the lease of laboratory and office facilities at MediCity Nottingham. The leasing fits into the company’s strategy to launch a a translational Contract Research Organisation. The new infrastructure will allow ValiRx to conduct all testing in-house to improve the efficiency of the translational drug development service for both internal and third-party use.

Oxford-headquartered Exscientia has announced first-in-human study for Bristol Myers Squibb in-licensed PKC theta inhibitor (EXS4318). EXS4318 is the first immunology and inflammation candidate designed by Exscientia, the fourth molecule to enter the clinic ant the 150th novel compound synthesised in this programme. It is designed to be a PKC theta inhibitor. PKC theta is a kinase that controls T cell function and is a key driver of several highly prevalent autoimmune diseases. Designing inhibitors to this target has been challenging as it requires a small molecule with the high potency and selectivity against other closely related kinases. In 2021, EXS4318 was licensed in by Bristol Meyers Squibb.

Cheshire-headquartered BiVictriX Therapeutics plc (AIM: BVX) has announced positive data for preclinical study of BVX001. Data shows BVX001 to be well-tolerated and a favourable safety profile when compared with gemtuzumab ozogamicin in models evaluating the risk for neutropenia. Gemtuzumab ozogamicin is the only approved antibody drug conjugate indicated for the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). However, it reduces normal neutrophil counts in AML patients. The in vivo preclinical results have shown commonly reported toxicities of gemtuzumab ozogamicin. BVX001 will now be advanced into the clinic for AML patients.

Cambridge-based Arecor Therapeutics (LON:AREC) has announced publication of Phase 1 data for AT278 insulin candidate. AT278 is an ultra-concentrated (500 U/mL), ultra-rapid acting insulin product candidate. It demonstratedfaster insulin absorption with an accelerated pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profile compared to gold-standard insulin NovoRapid (100 U/mL) despite a 5-fold increase in concentration.

Newcastle-headquartered Shield Therapeutics plc (AIM FTSE: STX) has entered an exclusive, multi-year agreement with US-based Viatris Inc (NASDAQ: VTRS) to co-commercialise Accrufer. Accrufer is Shield's novel, oral iron therapy for the treatment of iron deficiency. In addition, Shield has extended an existing convertible debt facility by $10 million (AOP Health International Management) and subscribed an $18.5 million equity placing. The transaction and the collaboration agreement were advised by Taylor Wessing.

Oxford-headquartered Vaccitech (NASDAQ: VACC) and Pharmaron (SHE: 300759) have entered into a strategic partnership. The partnership aims to develop and manufacture Vaccitech's Adenoviral Vector programme. Pharmaron will become a key part of Vaccitech's manufacturing network to support novel T cell immunotherapeutics and vaccines from its proprietary ChAdOx1 viral vector platform.

Cambridge-headquartered AstraZeneca's (LSE/STO/NASDAQ: AZN) ****Forxiga (dapagliflozin) has been approvedin the European Union for the treatment of heart failure (HF). First and only heart failure therapy with proven mortality benefit across the full ejection fraction range  The approval is effective across the full spectrum of left ventricular ejection fraction, including HF with mildly reduced and preserved ejection fraction. This approval follows positive results from the DELIVER and DAPA-HF Phase III trials, which established Forxiga as the first HF medication to demonstrate mortality benefit across the full ejection fraction range.

AbbVie’s (NYSE: ABBV) RINVOQ (upadacitinib) has been granted approval by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD). Upadacitinib is a janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active CD and it is the first marketing authorisation globally for the use of upadacitinib in CD. Clinical trials have demonstrated that upadacitinib achieved the co-primary endpoints of clinical remission and endoscopic response at week 12 and week 52, providing a new advanced treatment option for those living with the condition. Upadacitinib was approved for ulcerative colitis last year.

London-headquartered GSK's (LSE/NYSE: GSK) Jesduvroq (daprodustat) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Daprodustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor (HIF-PHI) for the once-a-day treatment of anaemia due to chronic kidney disease in adults on dialysis. It is the first medicine for anaemia treatment in over 30 years and the only HIF-PHI approved in the US. Daprodustat works by inhibiting oxygen-sensing prolyl hydroxylase enzymes, which can lead to the transcription of erythropoietin and other genes involved in the correction of anaemia.

University spinouts time, friends. The Financial Times dedicates its section The Big Read to the challenges and tensions around commercialising technology with academic origin. The main one is the equity founders have to surrender: a spinout with a messed up cap table might not got too far. And yet, that is not the only problem. What about tech transfer offices?

Caetano Reis e Sousa, Principal Group Leader at The Francis Crick Institute and co-founder of Adendra Therapeutics, has written an interesting piece on why involving investors early on the discovery process might be a good idea.

Brussels has spoken: conventional in-vitro plant gene editing techniques with have a long safety record are excluded from EU laws restricting the use of genetically modified organisms.

In Vivo Pharma Intelligence has talked to Melanie Lee PhD, CBE, CEO of LifeArc about the role of the medical research charity in fuelling excellent research.

More on the B-word: Oxbridge (but not only) sees EU research grants plummeting in the past two years. And the number of European applicants seems to be following the same trend.

The UK Government has set out its medical technology strategy. The strategy builds on the Life Sciences Vision to help building the position of the UK as a global science superpower.