Private equity firm increases stake in Nottingham life sciences company

Private equity firm Mercia Technologies has invested a further £2m into Nottingham-based life sciences firm Locate Bio.

Locate has received £1.8m of direct investment from Mercia, with the balance coming from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, which the Group manages on behalf of the British Business Bank. Mercia’s direct equity stake is now 21.6%.

Locate is a gene and cell therapy company developing a pipeline of next generation medicines which utilise its proprietary technologies for non-viral gene therapy and cell therapy.

Nick Staples, chief executive of Locate Bio, said: “Locate is in an exciting phase of growth and these new funds will allow us to further develop our non-viral gene therapy technology IntraStem™ while continuing to utilise our TAOS® platform for cell delivery and other applications. These next generation technologies overcome current industry challenges in the fast-growing gene and cell therapy fields, providing a major business opportunity for Locate.”

Peter Dines, chief operating officer and head of life sciences & biosciences at Mercia Technologies, said: “Locate has continued to make important progress in developing its TAOS® and Intrastem™ technologies. These proprietary technologies have the potential to address multi-billion pound markets in the exciting and fast-growing areas of gene and cell therapy. We look forward to continuing to support Nick and the Locate team move this cutting-edge technology forwards.”