British Patient Capital Backs Notable Cancer Research with $7 million Investment in Grey Wolf Therapeutics

British Patient Capital, a subsidiary of the British Business Bank, invested $7 million in Grey Wolf Therapeutics, an Oxford-based biotech company that is developing first-of-its-kind cancer therapies. The investment was made as part of a $49 million Series B funding round, which was co-led by Pfizer Ventures and Earlybird Venture Capital and also included participation from Oxford Science Enterprises, Andera Partners, and Canaan.

Immuno-oncology, the field that Grey Wolf Therapeutics operates in, is a rapidly growing area that aims to harness the power of the immune system to fight cancer. Traditional cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, can be highly toxic and have limited effectiveness. Immuno-oncology therapies, on the other hand, have the potential to be more effective and less toxic.

Grey Wolf Therapeutics is focused on developing therapies that generate a novel immune response against tumors to make them easier for the body to detect and destroy. The company's unique therapeutic approach is intended to overcome resistance mechanisms to current treatment options, based on the research of the Grey Wolf team. The Series B funding will support a Phase I/II trial to test their lead product in humans for the first time.

Catherine Lewis La Torre, CEO of British Patient Capital, stated that the UK is a world leader in life sciences and Grey Wolf Therapeutics is evidence of how the country continues to push the boundaries of innovation. She also mentioned that Future Fund: Breakthrough was created to support R&D-intensive British companies operating in breakthrough technology sectors and British Patient Capital is investing in Grey Wolf as it embarks on the next step in its growth journey.

The investment made by British Patient Capital has been made via Future Fund: Breakthrough, a £375m program which co-invests with private sector investors in innovative, R&D-intensive UK companies. The company's mission is to enable long-term investment in innovative firms led by ambitious entrepreneurs who want to build large-scale businesses. Launched in June 2018, British Patient Capital has more than £3bn of assets under management, investing in venture and venture growth capital to support high growth potential innovative UK businesses in accessing the long-term financing they require to scale up.

It was reported that Grey Wolf Therapeutics is a UK- and Australian-based drug discovery and development biotech company spearheading a new therapeutic approach in immuno-oncology. The company’s first-of-its-kind immuno-oncology approach is centered on inhibiting the endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidases (ERAP1 or ERAP2), which play a key role in the antigen presentation pathway. Inhibiting ERAP1 or ERAP2 generates novel neoantigens and upregulates the immune system, which in turn can help the body to detect and destroy tumors more effectively.

Topics: Startups & Deals