Nottingham firm receives first investment from Midlands Engine Investment Fund
Nottingham specialist in regenerative medicine, Locate Therapeutics, has received the first equity investment from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund.
Part of a £2m finance package, underwritten by Mercia Fund Managers, including MEIF POC and Mercia EIS funds, the cash will help the firm fast-track its medical inventions to market, as well as make six more hires.
Locate Therapeutics is based in MediCity in Nottingham and is a spinout from the University of Nottingham. The firm is leading the way in the development of a targeted drug and stem cells delivery system. This system enables doctors to administer treatments to delicate parts of the body where greater levels of precision are required. The cash will help Locate to take this service across the world.
Dr Ian Wilding, chairman of Locate Therapeutics, said: “We are extremely excited about the potential of our drug delivery technologies to be ‘game changers’ in the field of regenerative medicine, opening up new products to change the lives of patients with severe illnesses.
“Our company has successfully transitioned from the research to development phase in the last three years and we welcome the backing of Mercia Fund Managers as our investment partner in our journey to commercialisation.”
Ken Cooper, managing director at the British Business Bank, said: “Locate Therapeutics has a real opportunity to make improvements in patient care – factors that without this equity investment would not be able to take place. Helping deals such as this go through is a big part of what the Midlands Engine Investment Fund was set-up to do, as it continues to support small innovative companies to grow and to address the regional funding imbalances across the UK.”
Julian Dennard, investment director at Mercia, said: “To be able to support innovative firms such as Locate Therapeutics is a key driver for Mercia Fund Managers. This is a great example of how finance available through the MEIF can be leveraged with private money to bring needed capital to a potentially high growth life sciences’ business.
“We look forward to working with Locate Therapeutics and its partners to drive the business forward, allowing patients to benefit from new treatments by building an exciting next generation drug delivery business.”
