Octopus Ventures, an investor in early-stage and expanding companies, has made an investment of GBP2m in e-Therapeutics, a drug discovery and development company that uses proprietary c
Octopus Ventures, an investor in early-stage and expanding companies, has made an investment of GBP2m in e-Therapeutics, a drug discovery and development company that uses proprietary computational systems to predict how medicines interact with cells in the body.
Headquartered in Newcastle, UK, e-Therapeutics’ drug discovery technology enables it to assess drug candidates for high efficacy and safety ahead of clinical trials, reducing the time between drug discovery and market applicability, and reducing the risks associated with clinical trials.
The company is currently progressing with the preclinical and clinical development of a number of drug candidates, including an oral asthma treatment and a new type of antidepressant. Both treatments have successfully completed Phase IIa clinical testing, validating the therapeutic attributes that e-Therapeutics’ drug discovery system predicted for each candidate.
Other candidates entering Phase IIa clinical testing include antibiotics that have demonstrated their ability to kill the superbug MRSA, and a new form of chemotherapy, capable of killing metastatic cancer cells very quickly at safe doses.
The development and commercialisation of the company’s candidates that have clinical data will be supported initially by licences to pharmaceutical partners operating in smaller pharmaceutical markets. This will provide clinical data for e-Therapeutics’ exclusive use in major markets.
The GBP2m provided by Octopus, which previously led a funding round for e-Therapeutics in 2007, will enable the company to continue with the development of its pipeline of existing and forthcoming drug candidates, and identify quality companies and/or drug candidates for acquisition.
The investment consists of a private placing of 3,169,189 shares at a price of 30 pence per ordinary share and the issue of GBP1,049,233 of loan notes. The funds allocated have been raised through the Octopus Titan 1, 2 and 3 VCTs, Octopus Eureka, and the Octopus Private Investor Group.
Alex Macpherson, chief executive of Octopus Ventures, says: "e-Therapeutics is an extremely compelling investment proposition, and we are delighted to be continuing our relationship with Malcolm and the rest of his team at what promises to be an exciting time of growth and expansion.
‘Their proprietary drug discovery techniques have the unique advantage of being able to identify effective and safe drug candidates ahead of clinical trials, thereby increasing the speed to market of various treatments that will play a vital role in the fight against a number of high profile diseases including asthma, cancer, depression and MRSA.’
Professor Malcolm Young, chief executive officer of e-Therapeutics, adds: ‘We are pleased that Octopus is continuing to support our growth strategy. Since its initial investment in 2007, the invaluable access to advice, expertise and relevant industry provided by Octopus has helped to facilitate the rapid progress we have made in recent years.
‘This funding will provide us with the necessary capital to develop our pipeline of drug candidates further and capitalise on any compelling acquisition opportunities within the global biotechnology community, resulting from the ongoing economic turbulence.’
