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Oxford Genetics announced a £7.5 million investment into its operations in the US and the UK by Mercia Technologies PLC, an existing investor, and Invesco Perpetual.
This investment will fund a new office in Boston, US and a 6,000-sq. ft. extension of its UK facility at the Oxford Science Park by November 2017. The extension will include state-of-the-art cell line engineering capabilities, viral vector production and purification suites, high-throughput robotic screening systems and process development facilities.
The company also plans to invest in its research and development capabilities to increase its intellectual property (IP) portfolio and support the growth of its of technology-enabled licensing business.
“The future is looking genuinely exciting for Oxford Genetics. Over the last few years there has been a huge number of promising steps in the complex biologics field towards delivering real patient benefits and Oxford Genetics is pleased to be working with so many of the companies tackling some of medicines most significant challenges,” Ryan Cawood, CEO of Oxford Genetics, said. “This latest investment will allow us to further strengthen our solid foundations of innovative technologies and operational excellence and deliver on our mission to improve the overall efficiency of the biotherapeutic industry through the application of synthetic biology.”
Oxford Genetics has also signed a number of licenses for use of its technologies, including two collaborative partnerships with gene therapy companies designed to develop its IP offering further, as well as filing five new patents intended to improve the discovery, development or delivery of biotherapeutics.
The investment into Oxford Genetics’ offering is exceptionally well-timed with the rapidly increasing demand for solutions that improve the discovery and development of biotherapeutics driving the need for expert technology providers to support and scale companies’ research efforts.