£2m funding boost for Infex’s work on pandemic preparedness
Infex Therapeutics, the Alderley Park-based biotech developing new clinical pipeline of innovative drugs to treat critical priority infectious diseases, has completed an interim funding round worth £2.1m to expand its coronavirus therapeutics portfolio.
Supported by existing shareholders Perscitus – Jon Moulton’s family office – and the Greater Manchester and Cheshire Life Sciences Fund, managed by Catapult Ventures, as well as individual private shareholders, the investment will support Infex Therapeutics through to 2022.
The funding will be pivotal in enabling Infex to progress its pipeline of new drugs, including vital work with the Cancer Research UK Newcastle Drug Discovery Unit, on a novel therapy designed to treat SARS-CoV-2, along with future variants and a broad spectrum of coronaviruses.
The program, PAN-X, is an early stage drug that has shown encouraging activity during in-vitro testing.
It has been developed by a team led by Prof Mike Waring, Prof Steve Wedge and Prof Martin Noble at CRUK Newcastle Drug Discovery Unit at Newcastle University. Their previous achievements include key roles in discovering pioneering lung cancer drugs.
The funding will also aid the advancement of MET-X, Infex’s new treatment to tackle the latest variants of super bugs that can lead, for example, to serious complicated urinary tract infections.
Infex has appointed Pharmaron to manufacture the patented MET-X molecule with work being done at Pharmaron’s plant in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire.
On completion, MET-X will go through toxicology screening and stability testing before entering phase one clinical trials in Liverpool in 2022.
Dr Peter Jackson, executive director of Infex Therapeutics, said: “From our Alderley Park base, our team is working with partners both within the UK and internationally to develop vital new treatments for critical infections that will save lives.
“Our investors share our commitment to progress these vital programs and build the collaborative networks required to ensure the UK and the world is much better prepared than ever before to treat pandemic infections.”
The PAN-X and MET-X programmes are backed by iiCON, the infectious disease innovation consortium led by the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and supported by the UK Government’s Strength in Places Fund.
The GM&C Life Sciences Fund is a seed and early stage venture capital fund which targets life sciences businesses, and is the result of a collaboration between Cheshire and Warrington Enterprise Partnership, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Cheshire East Council, and Manchester Science Partnerships.
Perscitus is a London based investment consultant, providing services to Jon Moulton’s family office which invests internationally across an array of asset classes.
The team has a diversified strategy which includes market-facing discretionary portfolios, fund investments, as a limited partner, in US and European funds, infrastructure assets, as well as direct venture capital and private equity investments. The family office invests across the life sciences, financial services, manufacturing, semiconductor, technology and digital sectors.
