Biotech firm raises £750K in private placing
WideCells Group has raised £750,000 by way of a private placing and has been named as the 21st most disruptive company globally.
Based at the University of Manchester Innovation Centre (UMIC), WideCells Group aims to increase the number of diseases treatable with stem cells and make treatment accessible and affordable across the world.
The funds raised will be used to expand and support the company’s three divisions – CellPlan, WideCells and WideAcademy.
After listing on the London Stock Exchange in July 2016, WideCells was recently ranked as the 21st most disruptive company globally by ‘Disrupt 100’ and has been nominated for the IPO Life Sciences of the year award by Biotech&Money.
The DISRUPT 100 is an annual index celebrating the businesses with the most potential to influence, change or create new global markets and is compiled and curated by the world’s leading entrepreneurs, investors and business people.
WideCells Group chief executive Joao Andrade, who co-founded the company with chief operating officer Lopes Gil, said: “This is an extremely exciting phase in our development as we look to accelerate the growth of all three of our divisions through the aggressive roll out of new and existing products and services.
“Having recently been granted a research licence from the UK’s Human Tissue Authority and with further growth planned across all three of our divisions, this cash injection will enable us to proceed with further cutting-edge stem cell research and continue the rapid roll out of our innovative stem cell services in a market that is projected to be worth $170bn by 2020, which is intended to help drive more revenues for the company in the future.”
He went on: “We are ideally positioned to build on our position as a key service provider and leading international innovator in the stem cell arena. Our commitment to innovation is highlighted through our recent ranking as the 21st most disruptive company globally by DISRUPT 100; I look forward to continuing in this vein, increasing revenue and rewarding shareholders for their support.”
The £750,000 raised came through the issue of 5,357,143 ordinary shares at 14p per share, and by way of a private placing with new and existing shareholders as well as the Board of Directors; the Board’s participation in the placing undoubtedly highlights the confidence they have in the company’s future.
WideCells Group employs 30 people across its three divisions in Manchester, Lisbon and Brazil.
Dr Peter Hollands, chief scientific officer of WideCells Group, heads up the laboratory at UMIC, just outside Manchester city centre.
Andrade added: “Our growth trajectory has been steep and we are set to continue this in the coming months as our proprietary insurance product CellPlan gains traction, the marketing of INDUS, a novel synthetic bone graft which promotes new bone formation increases, and the expansion of our stem cell bank relationships as well as our own storage capabilities expands.”
