Oxford spin-out gets £96m of funding at launch

By Tom Kilkelly

17 July 2023

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Oxford University spin-out Beacon Therapeutics, a biotech company, has launched with £96 million in funding.

The launch of the company has been reported as ‘’the largest for any company including an Oxford spin-out programme’.

Beacon’s focus is the application of gene and cell therapies to combat sight loss across various conditions. One of these conditions, macular degeneration, affects an estimated 1 in 200 people in the UK by the age of 60.

Professor Robert MacLaren, co-founder of the company and Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford, said: 'As a retinal specialist, I became interested in gene therapy when I noticed impressive advancements in the understanding of genetics, but nothing to treat genetic diseases causing blindness in young people.’

'I was driven to bridge this gap by taking the science, developing it further and then testing it in clinical trials. This translational approach proved successful as it required both clinical expertise and scientific knowledge.'

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Lead investor, Syncona Limited, is a firm that focuses on the life sciences and has shown a particular interest in gene therapies for the eye. Syncona was a founding investor of two other startups dedicated to this research, Nightstar Therapeutics and Gyroscope Therapeutics.

Chris Hollowood, CEO of Syncona, said: “By acquiring AGTC and combining its late-stage program with highly complementary and innovative science from the University of Oxford and elsewhere, we have created an exciting new gene therapy company in an area where we have a great breadth and depth of knowledge and expertise.’’

By Tom Kilkelly

Tom Kilkelly started working as a freelance journalist for The Business Magazine following his graduation from UCL in 2022.

During his studies Tom became very interested in the works of Irish authors including Samuel Beckett and Flann O'Brien (Brian O'Nolan).

His current role as a freelance business reporter is his first exposure to the world of business journalism. Working at TBM has given Tom the chance to really get to grips with the goings-on in the business hive that is the South East.