CytoSeek secures £1.1M pre-seed round
CytoSeek has raised a £1.1M seed round to supercharge cell therapies.
CytoSeek has raised £1.1 million in funding to develop new cancer therapies.
CytoSeek, a spin-out from the University of Bristol, has been backed by a number of organisations as Bristol becomes recognised as a centre for biotechnology.
The funding has come from ten local entrepreneurs, who are all members of the Bristol Private Equity Club; the Venture Capitalist fund UKI2S and the University of Bristol Enterprise Fund managed by Parkwalk.
CytoSeek, based at the Unit DX incubator in St Philips, Bristol, has developed a cell membrane augmentation technology and will be applying this for new ways to tackle cancer. The process involves modifying a patient’s own immune cells to “supercharge” them against cancer cells.
Professor Adam Perriman, who founded Cytoseek, said:
“At the moment cell therapies of this kind are only used in the treatment of cancers in the blood, such as leukaemia. We are looking at ways that cell therapy can also be used for solid tumours, which are responsible for 85% of cancer related deaths. To do this, we have developed a protein-based cellular paint that can be put on cells to improve their cancer-killing performance.”
“In the last three years Bristol has created an incredible environment for the clinical translation of science to biotechnology, and it is fantastic to have local financial support. This funding will help us to rapidly accelerate the pre-clinical validation of the technology, which will help get it to the clinic faster.”
Jerry Barnes, founder of Bristol Private Equity Club said: “Ten of our members have put their money and business expertise behind CytoSeek as biotech businesses like this need the financial backing in their early years to enable them to make progress.
“It is exciting that work going on in Bristol today may lead to breakthroughs in treatment that could benefit people throughout the world in the future.”
Oliver Sexton, Investment Director UKI2S, said: “UKI2S was the founding investor in Cytoseek supporting its early growth and following again in this latest round. We’re excited about the potential to improve efficacy across a range of immuno-oncology therapies.”
Keith MacDonald, Chairman of CytoSeek, said: “I am, delighted that the company has secured financing to achieve the next milestones in the development of its groundbreaking science. I am excited that CytoSeek has the potential to make a real difference in the treatment of a broad spectrum of medical conditions including cancer.”
Bristol Private Equity Club
BPEC was founded in 2016 and now has 80 successful entrepreneurs and business people from the Bristol area with capital to invest as club members. In three years the club has invested more than £6 million into 19 different businesses.
About Parkwalk
Parkwalk is the largest growth EIS fund manager, backing world-changing technologies emerging from the UK’s leading universities and research institutions. With £250m of assets under management, it has invested in over 100 companies across its flagship Parkwalk Opportunities EIS Fund as well as the award-winning enterprise and innovation funds Parkwalk manages for the Universities of Cambridge, Oxford and Bristol.
Parkwalk invests in businesses creating solutions to real-world challenges, with IP-protected innovations, across a range of sectors including life sciences, AI, quantum computing, advanced materials, genomics, cleantech, future of mobility, medtech and big data.
About the University of Bristol Enterprise Fund
Managed by Parkwalk, The University of Bristol Enterprise Fund is an early stage investment fund backing scientific and technological companies spun out of the University of Bristol or being supported by the University’s SETsquared incubator.
For more information, please visit: http://parkwalkadvisors.com/fund/university-of-bristol-enterprise-fund