CHAIN Biotechnology Limited has developed a therapeutic approach based on engineering a probiotic strain of Clostridium to deliver oral vaccines and therapeutics.
Its Clostridium Assisted Drug Development platform (CADD) technology is a live therapeutic that employs a triple mode of action, incorporating mucosal and systemic immune responses alongside microbiome enhancement, and is delivered via stable, robust endospores that allow targeted, controllable therapeutic action.
CHAIN Biotechnology’s platform is already in development to deliver prophylactic vaccines and this funding round will enable CHAIN to focus on using its unique platform as a treatment for major solid tumor cancers.
The company has announced it has closed a financing round of £1.8 million ($2 million).
The round was led by new investors, British Growth Fund (BGF), one of the largest investors in the U.K. and Ireland, and venture capital investment group SynBioVen, who specialize in backing synthetic biology-based products, together with strategic investor and partner Miyarisan Pharmaceuticals and existing investor, UKI2S.
Matthew Duchars, CEO of CHAIN Biotechnology, said: “This funding is instrumental in enabling CHAIN to advance its platform in the field of immune-oncology. CHAIN’s CADD system has huge potential to provide an effective and easy to administer therapy in this field. We are very excited to welcome our new investors BGF and SynBioVen who, together with Miyarisan and UKI2S, have enabled us to move forward with this exciting stage in CADD’s development.”
Tim Rea, head of early-stage investments at BGF, said: “CHAIN is a leading light in the field of microbiome medicine, offering a highly differentiated and patent-protected platform which enables safe and effective oral drug delivery for a range of conditions. We have been consistently impressed by the progress CHAIN has made to date and believe it is now in an ideal position to capitalize on the vast potential of its ground-breaking technology.”