Schroder UK Public Private backs Epsilogen – Schroder UK Public Private Trust has made a £3.0m investment in a leading immunoglobulin E (“IgE”) antibodies developer, Epsilogen, as part of that company’s £30.75m Series B funding round.
The funding round was led by a new investor, Novartis Venture Fund, and joined by new investors 3B Future Health Fund, British Patient Capital and Caribou Property. The new syndicate joins founding Series A investor Epidarex Capital and Series A investor ALSA Ventures both of whom also committed further capital in this Series B fundraising round. This is the sixth investment into a new unquoted company that Schroder UK Public Private has made in the last 12 months.
IgE targets solid tumours
Epsilogen is a global leader in the development of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to treat cancer. IgE’s natural function is to provide immunological defence against certain parasites. This functionality makes it an ideal treatment of solid tumours due to its strong potency, enhanced tumour access and long tissue half-life. Epsilogen’s lead product candidate, MOv18 IgE, is the first therapeutic IgE antibody to enter the clinic and encouraging data from a phase I trial demonstrated MOv18 IgE to be safe and well tolerated with early signs of clinical activity also seen. Epsilogen is also developing a proprietary IGEGTM antibody platform combining elements from both IgE and IgG antibodies into novel and proprietary antibody molecules with enhanced functionality.
Tim Creed and Roger Doig, portfolio managers said: “We are delighted to announce the first new therapeutics focused private equity investment since our appointment as Portfolio Manager. The British life science ecosystem will continue to develop innovative medicines and we plan to build a portfolio of venture backed therapeutics companies as part of the Company’s overall portfolio. Epsilogen is a global leader in the development of novel IgE antibodies to treat cancer and we believe that IgE antibodies could potentially have a transformative impact on patients. We look forward to supporting the company on its journey over the coming years“.
SUPP : Schroder UK Public Private backs Epsilogen