Coventry's NanoSyrinx raises multi-million-pound financing
NanoSyrinx, the synthetic biology company developing ‘nanosyringes’ as a novel platform for targeted intracellular delivery of biologic therapeutics, has closed a c. £10 million financing round.
The funding round was co-led by BGF, Octopus Ventures and M Ventures, with support from existing investors IQ Capital and Meltwind. Global medicines company Eli Lilly and Company also participated. It will be used to drive further development of NanoSyrinx’s technology platform, to realise its full potential in advancing intracellular medicine, accelerating the development of biologic therapeutics against a pipeline of previously ‘undruggable’ intracellular targets.
The platform is based around naturally occurring ‘nanosyringes’, which are engineered to selectively deliver peptide and protein payloads – including functional gene editors and a range of other enzymes – directly to the cytosol of targeted cells.
Alongside the financing, Warwick Science Park-based NanoSyrinx also announced the appointment of Dr Edwin Moses as Chair of the Board of Directors. Edwin takes over from Stephen Taylor, who has led the Board since the company’s inception. Edwin is a renowned entrepreneur and C-level executive in the life sciences industry, bringing over 30 years of Board-level experience, from over 20 life science companies. Currently Chair of Achilles Therapeutics plc, LabGenius Ltd and Avantium NV, he has an impressive track record of building and scaling innovative biotech platform companies, achieving multiple successful exits and raising over €700 million in equity and debt financing to date.
Dr Moses said: “NanoSyrinx’s technology promises to make a tremendous, positive difference to the very challenging problem of intracellular delivery of therapeutics. I am delighted to join the Board and help build on the momentum of this latest fundraise, to support the company and its leadership team in the further development of this unique platform, which has the potential to create enormous value and make a real difference to patients’ lives.”
Previously, Edwin was CEO of Ablynx NV, until its agreed takeover by Sanofi for $4.8 billion in 2018, and CEO of Oxford Asymmetry International plc, prior to its sale to Evotec for £316 million. He led both companies’ successful IPOs on the London Stock Exchange, EuroNext and NASDAQ. His appointment as Chair of NanoSyrinx’s Board of Directors will help support the executive team in maximising value from the company’s nanosyringe platform, through a combination of in-house pipeline development and strategic commercial partnerships.
Dr. Joe Healey, CEO at NanoSyrinx, said: “Edwin has significant experience as a successful CEO and Chairman, with extensive involvement in biotech fundraising, strategic commercial partnerships and successful exits. We are thrilled to have him joining as Chair of our Board, as we drive forward with our ambitious plans. He joins us at a pivotal stage alongside this financing, which places us in a well-capitalised position to further develop our intracellular drug delivery technology, to realise its full potential in developing medicines. We would like to thank Steve for all his help over the years, and recognise the instrumental part he has played in getting the company to where it is today.”
Lucy Edwardes Jones, Investor at BGF, said: “While huge advances have been made in the field of biologic therapies, the delivery challenge remains a key bottleneck. We are excited by the potential of NanoSyrinx’s unique technology to unlock this, enabling promising new drugs to reach previously inaccessible disease targets in the body. We are looking forward to working closely with Edwin, the team, and our co-investors to see this exciting technology through to impact.”
