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Existing shareholders including Morningside and NESTA contribute to Series A fund alongside the endorsement from a corporate pharmaceutical investor.
CAMBRIDGE, UK, 2nd October 2007
CellCentric, the biotechnology company unlocking epigenetic control mechanisms, has secured further financing to advance its epigenetic-related discovery and development activities. The funding will be used to increase target validation and small molecule development work, as well as to support CellCentric's patent portfolio. Primary focus currently is on ubiquitin ligases and histone demethylases.
The first close of a two stage funding brings in over US$4.3m from Morningside Venture Investments Ltd., Takeda Research Investment, Inc. (TRI), the National Endowment for Sciences, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), and Providence Investment Company Ltd.
The funding achieved should take the company through to a point where CellCentric can achieve corporate collaborations and deals, both on its novel targets for cancer and epigenetic reprogramming screens.
Will West , CEO of CellCentric said “Achieving a significant corporate endorsement was a key goal for this year. The deal struck with Takeda's corporate venture arm is just that. It would not have been possible without the commitment and passion for our novel business model from Morningside, NESTA and Providence , as well as the rest of the management team”.
Graeme Martin, President & CEO of TRI said “CellCentric is building a truly innovative business, consolidating the vast expertise and know-how of a global network of experts in epigenetics. We believe this is an emerging area of real significance in therapeutic drug discovery. Our investment is intended to help build a relationship that may lead to collaboration on multiple novel drug targets that CellCentric is validating.”
Note:
Takeda Research Investment, Inc. (TRI) is the corporate venture arm of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited , a world-class pharmaceutical company and the largest in Japan . A wholly-owned subsidiary of Takeda America Holdings, Inc., TRI aims to encourage and support therapeutic innovation in biopharmaceutical companies and academic centres of excellence, through early stage capital investment and provision of access to the resources of a multinational pharmaceutical company.
Contact: Will West +44 1799 531 130
For further information on CellCentric and epigenetics, see www.cellcentric.com |
