The latest Business updates from the science industry
by Heather Hobbs Strong Investor Support for Cell Rejuvenation Technology
University of Exeter spin-out SENISCA has raised more than £2 million from existing investors, to take its cell rejuvenation technology to the next stage of development. Following a strong performance since launch, a fundraising was over-subscribed, with current organisations re-investing in this latest seed round including R42 Fund, Emerging Longevity Ventures, Longevity Tech Fund and Trend Ventures. The company also welcomes on board QantX and APEX Ventures as new investors.
“From the beginning we were impressed by the scientifi c excellence Lorna and the SENISCA team showed,” said Dr Diana Röttger, Principal at Apex Ventures. “SENISCA’s discoveries in cell
rejuvenation have a vast potential as they target a large set of age related diseases at their origin and thereby can profoundly impact today’s treatment options. APEX is at the forefront of disruptive medical technologies and we are thrilled to partner with SENISCA.”
QantX CEO Richard Haycock, said: “We are delighted to be supporting a highly innovative team with potentially ground breaking technology in the fi eld of age related disease. QantX invests in South West based companies that have global potential and SENISCA is a great example of the partnership between capital and talent that we seek to nurture.”
The £2.15 million of cash funds raised supplements the recent
award of a £180,000 grant from Innovate UK, the third non- dilutive funding grant that the company has been awarded since incorporation in 2020.
SENISCA’s innovation, restores functional levels of RNA splicing factors (which are essential for cellular responses), by taking old or ‘senescent’ cells and effectively resetting the cellular ageing clock. This latest funding will enable progression of its anti-ageing compounds to the next phase of ex vivo laboratory tests, as well as expand its management team. The next seed round is scheduled for early 2023 and will seek to raise more than £5 million.
Kirsty Semple, Chief Executive Offi cer, said: “This latest investment is cementing our place as a global leader in developing medicines to target the causes of ageing. Our long-standing RNA biology expertise and world class laboratory facilities place us amongst the front runners in the development of drugs that target mRNAs, the product of our genes, which is one of the fastest growing drug development sectors. We aim to be among the fi rst UK-based teams to employ this emerging science in the context of complex age- related disease.”
Professor Lorna Harries, Chief Scientifi c Offi cer, said: “This new investment will allow us to move our emerging innovations rapidly through our development program towards pre-clinical evaluation. We are developing a program of small molecule and targeted oligonucleotide therapeutics, together with biomarker discovery, to persuade cells back to a more youthful and functional state. This will hopefully allow cells, tissues and organs associated with common chronic disease to repair damage and remain functional for longer.”
SENISCA Team with Kirsty Semple and Lorna Harries (front Row 3rd and 4th from left) Kirsty Semple
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Addressing Inequalities in Global Diagnostics Supply
Global Access Diagnostics (GADx), created to address gaps in the global provision of diagnostic supplies has been introduced by social enterprise Global Access Health (GAH) as its fi rst portfolio company. Combining expertise in rapid diagnostics development from Mologic Ltd with low-cost manufacturing and scale-up capability of sister company, Global Access Diagnostics (GAD), GADx will re-invest all surplus to deliver quality and affordable diagnostics to those in most need. This includes transferring diagnostic technology to low-middle income countries, delivering tests such as COVID-19 to communities in need and developing tests for neglected diseases such as dengue, bilharzia, and river blindness. It is a unique initiative set up and supported by GAH which was formed in 2021 by a group of philanthropic funds and investors led by the Soros Economic Development Fund (SEDF), with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Through this transaction, the group acquired Mologic and GAD combining industry-leading expertise under the GADx single brand, advancing the organisation’s philanthropic goals to maximise its contribution to global healthcare.
In addition to its product portfolio, GADx offers expertise for contract research and development, support for companies, moving towards scale-up manufacturing (prototyping to pilot- scale) with capacity to produce over 2 million test per day, as well as manufacturing and logistics.
“Nearly half of the world’s population have little or no access to
that puts underserved communities above shareholders and aims to create legacies that bring sustainable change to healthcare and business.”
Sumin Koo, CEO of GAH, commented: “To be a leader in R&D, we brought in Mologic, a pioneer in rapid diagnostics and participant in over 150 international research projects working with globally recognised partners. The team’s expertise and products are at the forefront of human, animal, and agriculture diagnostics. This is paired with the strength of GAD’s novel manufacturing platform; holding the fl exibility and expertise to accommodate one-off orders and scale-up for mass production, of over 1 million tests per day.”
Mark Davis
diagnostics; and only 1-in-5 people in low and low-middle income countries have basic diagnostic tests available to them,” said Mark Davis, CEO of GADx R&D (formerly Mologic). He added: “GADx’s foundation is based on three pillars: leadership in research and development, manufacturing prowess and Our Core Mission: reinvesting surplus. We are building an innovative social enterprise
Mark Radford, CEO of GADx Manufacturing (formerly GAD), added: “This is an exciting next step for GADx, harnessing our individual expertise in lateral fl ow testing to transform rapid diagnostics. We have very well-established contract manufacturing capabilities to provide custom, fl exible and scalable solutions, from low- to high- volume. This single brand portrays our group vision for the future of diagnostic testing, we look forward to progressing this to get the best tests to the most people, for the lowest cost and do so sustainably.”
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