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Morningside joins first round funders
CAMBRIDGE, UK, 18 July 2006 - CellCentric, the biotechnology company unlocking epigenetic control mechanisms, has raised a further £1.2m of venture capital.
The funds will consolidate and build CellCentric’s patent position in key epigenetic control proteins and mechanisms, and increase discovery capabilities in identifying modifiers of epigenetic imprints.
All of CellCentric’s existing investors contributed to the new financing round with additional support from Morningside Venture Investments Ltd., a major international venture capital player.
First round investors who continue to support CellCentric are: Avlar BioVentures Fund II LP, Provident Investment Company Ltd., the National Endowment for the Sciences, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), Cambridge University’s Challenge Fund Trading Company Ltd. and the Rainbow Seed Fund.
CellCentric Chief Executive Officer, Dr Will West, said: “We have raised all the capital we desired for the current business cycle. We look forward to continuing to meet our milestones and further demonstrate leadership in the understanding and commercial utility of epigenetic control mechanisms”.
Dr Gerald Chan of Morningside commented: “I have been very impressed by the team at CellCentric and their innovative business model. Epigenetics is going to have a major impact in healthcare and other non-clinical areas. I believe CellCentric has the right components to deliver strong value”.
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FURTHER INFORMATION
At CellCentric:
Will West
will.west@cellcentric.co.uk
Media Enquiries:
Jonathon Rees
Jonathon@proofcommunication.com
020 7101 9132
07989 975 077
Richard Moss
Richard@proofcommunication.com
020 7101 9133
07866 624 613
NOTES TO EDITORS
About CellCentric Ltd. www.cellcentric.co.uk
- CellCentric Ltd is a biotechnology company focused on the commercial exploitation of epigenetics and mechanisms that determine cell fate.
- The Company is building a patent portfolio around key proteins that control epigenetics within cells, and identifying proteins and small molecules that cause epigenetic change and cell reprogramming.
- CellCentric was founded in May 2004 with initial funding from Avlar BioVentures and Providence Investment Trust. It received subsequent funding from The Rainbow Seed Fund and the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA).
- A grant of £1.15m was received from DTI’s Technology Programme in April 2006.
CellCentric’s research and licence agreements:
- CellCentric is based on the world-leading research of Prof Azim Surani FRS at the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge.
- CellCentric has a research and intellectual property pipeline agreement with the Babraham Institute, one of the largest concentrations of researchers in epigenetics.
- CellCentric recently initiated its first anti-cancer target validation and therapeutic development programme with Cancer Research Technology Ltd, the specialist oncology commercialisation and development company.
- CellCentric has a research programme with Prof Chris Boshoff at UCL, identifying novel epigenetic-related cancer targets, as well as collaborators in the US.
- CellCentric sponsors research with Prof Keith Campbell at the University of Nottingham looking at cell fate control and somatic cell nuclear transfer.
Epigenetics
Epigenetics is the study of the functional groups that sit on top of genes and their associated proteins. The pattern, or imprint, of these functional groups is responsible for a cell’s specific function and fate. It determines which genes are made accessible to the cell’s machinery for reading and translation into proteins. The field of epigenetics is expected to radically change traditional approaches to treating diseases, including cancer and degenerative conditions.
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