Syncona Archives

News and Trends 12 Jun 2023

Beacon Therapeutics launches with $120M to develop gene therapies for retinal diseases

Beacon Therapeutics Holdings Limited has been launched to develop gene therapies to treat a range of rare and prevalent retinal diseases that result in blindness. Syncona Limited, with additional investors including Oxford Science Enterprises, has provided £96 million ($120 million) to fund the acquisition of AGTC and provide capital to take Beacon Therapeutics’ development candidates […]

June 12, 2023 - 4 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall

News and Trends 24 Oct 2022

Syncona to acquire Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation

Healthcare company Syncona Limited says its newly established portfolio company has agreed to acquire, by a tender offer, all outstanding shares of Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation (AGTC). AGTC is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development and commercialization of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based gene therapies for the treatment of rare and debilitating diseases with an […]

October 24, 2022 - 2 minutesmins - By Jim Cornall

cardiovascular disease heart attack forcefield therapeutics

News and Trends 25 Apr 2022

Forcefield Therapeutics Launched to Treat Heart Attacks with Protein Drugs

The startup Forcefield Therapeutics has been unveiled in the UK with €6M (£5.5M) backing from the investment firm Syncona. The mission is to develop the first drugs to safeguard heart muscle from damage during heart attacks. A sudden heart attack, also known as acute myocardial infarction, happens when the flow of blood to the heart […]

April 25, 2022 - 4 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 17 Feb 2020

UK Biotech Closes €50M Series A for GPCR Drug Discovery

Oxford-based OMass Therapeutics has extended its Series A round by €33M to fund the spectrometry-assisted development of drugs targeting G protein-coupled receptors. OMass Therapeutics’s Series A initially raised €17M in late 2018. The new funds bring this up to €50M (£41.5M). Investors in the most recent fundraise included the UK VC firm Syncona — which […]

February 17, 2020 - 2 minutesmins - By Jonathan Smith

News and Trends 26 Feb 2019

Immuno-oncology Biotech Raises €31M to Progress T-Cell Boosting Therapy

The Swiss biotech Anaveon closed a very respectable €31M (CHF35M) Series A fundraising round to help progress its T-cell boosting, cancer-fighting treatment to the clinic. The company’s candidate therapy mimics the action of a protein called interleukin 2, which is naturally found in the body. Interleukin 2 stimulates the immune system to produce more infection-fighting […]

February 26, 2019 - 2 minutesmins - By Helen Albert

News and Trends 30 Jun 2017

€40M in Series C for a British Biotech Treating Blindness with Gene Therapy

NightstaRx has raised €39.5M that will go towards three clinical programs testing gene therapies for rare diseases that cause blindness. NightstaRx is developing gene therapies for genetic retinal diseases that cause blindness, with technology from the University of Oxford. Now getting closer to the market, the company has closed a Series C round with $45M (€39.5M) […]

June 30, 2017 - 3 minutesmins - By Clara Rodríguez Fernández

Best in Biotech 12 Apr 2016

18 of the Best European VCs for Biotech in 2016

As Genentech is celebrating its 40th Birthday, it is also the 40th birthday of Biotechnology and the 40th birthday of Biotech Venture Capitalists. These risk investors are deeply linked to any venture successes. And although Europe definitely has fewer than in the US, there’s still a significant amount of influence and wealth on this side […]

April 12, 2016 - 10 minutesmins - By Philip Hemme

News and Trends 21 Mar 2016

CAR-T Startup Gets €51M from Top&New Investors

Autolus (UK) has secured over €51M in a recent series B round, led by the biggest Biotech VC in Europe – and a new player in life science investment. Autolus is a 1-year-old spin-off of the University College London (UCL) focusing on the development of next-generation CAR-T therapies, addressing current limitations of this ‘wonder therapy‘. […]

March 21, 2016 - 2 minutesmins - By Denise Neves Gameiro

News and Trends 14 Mar 2016

British Startup Raises Millions to Become the Illumina for Epigenetics

Cambridge Epigenetix (UK) wants to unlock the power of the Epigenome and become what Illumina is for NGS. And now, it has gotten the €18.9M and a new CEO needed to achieve this. Cambrige Epigenetix is a Biotech developing epigenetic tools, and was initially founded by Cambridge Enterprise (an incubator of the University of Cambridge) and […]

March 14, 2016 - 3 minutesmins - By Denise Neves Gameiro

News and Trends 11 Nov 2015

Oxford’s Nightstar Gene Therapy for Blindness in Men Shines with $35M Fundraiser

Choroideremia is a rare X-linked recessive retinal disease which eventually leads to blindness. A series B funding round has landed the NightstaRx (‘Nightstar’) biotech in Oxford an additional $35M for their vision-improving gene therapy. Since the mutation causing Choroideremia is sex-linked, sufferers are almost always males, with the onset of symptoms in childhood often starting […]

November 11, 2015 - 3 minutesmins - By Dani Bancroft

News and Trends 13 Oct 2015

The Top 15 European Biotech VCs

Biotech wouldn’t exist without Venture Capitalists. These investors bring the cash necessary to run clinical trials or conduct the scaling-up of processes, along with many years of experience. Though admittedly Europe definitely hasn’t got as much money floating around as the US, there are many major Biotech VCs in Europe … Here are 15 of […]

October 13, 2015 - 9 minutesmins - By Philip Hemme

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Syncona

Beacon Therapeutics launches with $120M to develop gene therapies for retinal diseases

Syncona to acquire Applied Genetic Technologies Corporation

Forcefield Therapeutics Launched to Treat Heart Attacks with Protein Drugs

UK Biotech Closes €50M Series A for GPCR Drug Discovery

Immuno-oncology Biotech Raises €31M to Progress T-Cell Boosting Therapy

€40M in Series C for a British Biotech Treating Blindness with Gene Therapy

18 of the Best European VCs for Biotech in 2016

CAR-T Startup Gets €51M from Top&New Investors

British Startup Raises Millions to Become the Illumina for Epigenetics

Oxford’s Nightstar Gene Therapy for Blindness in Men Shines with $35M Fundraiser

The Top 15 European Biotech VCs

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The top biotech deals of March 2025

The biggest biotech funding rounds in March 2025

Join the webinar: AI in antibody discovery - from in silico analysis to AI-enabled data management

Beyond amyloid: The search for the next big thing in Alzheimer’s treatment

Connect with decision-makers and researchers worldwide for collaborative opportunities

Subscribe to our newsletter

Advertise with us

The top biotech deals of March 2025

The biggest biotech funding rounds in March 2025

Join the webinar: AI in antibody discovery - from in silico analysis to AI-enabled data management

Beyond amyloid: The search for the next big thing in Alzheimer’s treatment

Connect with decision-makers and researchers worldwide for collaborative opportunities

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Advertise with us

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