British Patient Capital Invests £8M in Nuclera as Part of $75M Series C Funding

British Patient Capital has announced an £8 million investment in biotechnology company Nuclera, contributing to a $75 million Series C financing round.

The round was led by Elevage Medical Technologies, with participation from Patient Square Capital, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Jonathan Milner, GK Goh, M&G Catalyst, E Ink Holdings, Michael D. McCreary, Uni Power Group, and Verve Ventures.

Nuclera’s eProtein Discovery system is designed to streamline protein prototyping by simplifying the protein expression and characterization process. The system operates on a cell-free protein synthesis model, with the goal of reducing reliance on large, resource-intensive equipment and enabling faster protein production.

A few details about their technology:

• Cell-free protein synthesis: Uses cell extract-derived reagents, allowing proteins to be synthesized rapidly in droplets, bypassing traditional methods.
• Smart cartridge technology: Utilizes microfluidics to split, mix, and move DNA droplets within a programmable lab-on-a-cartridge, optimizing protein expression in minimal time.
• Simultaneous screening: Screens up to eight distinct expression conditions in parallel, identifying optimal conditions in just one day.

The system's integrated software provides real-time monitoring and generates detailed reports, including solubility, yield, and purifiability, enabling researchers to quickly assess protein viability. Experiments can also be followed remotely via a cloud-based platform.

The eProtein Discovery platform is designed for rapid protein prototyping, with four key components working together:

• Instrument: Automates protein prototyping, allowing "Pipette and Forget" operation.
• Software: Interface for designing DNA constructs, customizing experiments, and analyzing data.
• Smart Cartridge: Automates screening of multiple constructs and expression conditions.
• Reagents: Designed for DNA prep, expression screening, purifiability assessment, and scale-up.

Nuclera's eProtein Discovery instrument (source: Nuclera's flyer)

The investment will support Nuclera’s commercial expansion in the U.S. and Europe, further integrating their system into drug discovery workflows, particularly in labs working with protein design and AI-driven research.

The eProtein Discovery system has already been adopted by research organizations and institutions, including University College London, University of Cambridge, University of Southampton, and The Flanders Institute for Biotechnology.

Topics: Tools & Methods