Locate Therapeutics will lead a regenerative medicine revolution following the first equity investment by the Midlands Engine Investment Fund
Pioneering specialist in regenerative medicine, Locate Therapeutics, has received the first equity investment from the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund.
Nottingham-based Locate Therapeutics Ltd is the first firm to receive equity finance from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF). MEIF is providing £400k as part of a £2million investment that will help the firm to deliver an innovative targeted drug and stem cells delivery system to market. The capital will also enable the company to add six more experts to its team and open the doors to international trade.
Part of a £2million finance package, underwritten by Mercia Fund Managers, including MEIF POC and Mercia EIS funds, this cash injection will help the firm fast-track its medical inventions to market, as well as making six more expert hires.
Headquartered within MediCity in Nottingham – an incubator space for companies specialising in medical technology – Locate Therapeutics, a spinout from the University of Nottingham, is leading the way in the development of a targeted drug and stem cells delivery system. This system enables doctors to administer treatments to delicate parts of the body where greater levels of precision are required, with the added investment bolstering Locate Therapeutics’ business development capacity as it trademarks its inventions and begins to market it to medical providers all over the world.
The Life Sciences sector has been marked by the government in its recent Industrial Strategy as being one of the UK’s main growth sectors over the next 20 years, boasting a current national turnover of £64 billion – a figure that is set to increase significantly.
Peter Richardson, Chair D2N2 LEP, said:
“The Midlands Engine Investment Fund is designed to make the Midlands an engine for growth. By increasing the amount of finance available to companies across our area and working together as councils, businesses and local enterprise partnerships – we are helping businesses like Locate Therapeutics to grow, access new markets, export and flourish, both nationally and internationally.”
Explaining the implications of this investment, Dr Ian Wilding (pictured left), Chairman of Locate Therapeutics, said:
“We are extremely excited about the potential of our drug delivery technologies to be ‘game changers’ in the field of regenerative medicine, opening up new products to change the lives of patients with severe illnesses.
“Our company has successfully transitioned from the research to development phase in the last three years and we welcome the backing of Mercia Fund Managers as our investment partner in our journey to commercialisation.”
Ken Cooper, MD at the British Business Bank, commented:
“Locate Therapeutics has a real opportunity to make improvements in patient care – factors that without this equity investment would not be able to take place. Helping deals such as this go through is a big part of what the Midlands Engine Investment Fund was set-up to do, as it continues to support small innovative companies to grow and to address the regional funding imbalances across the UK.”
Commenting on the deal completion, Julian Dennard, Investment Director at Mercia, said:
“To be able to support innovative firms such as Locate Therapeutics is a key driver for Mercia Fund Managers. This is a great example of how finance available through the MEIF can be leveraged with private money to bring needed capital to a potentially high growth life sciences’ business.
“We look forward to working with Locate Therapeutics and its partners to drive the business forward, allowing patients to benefit from new treatments by building an exciting next generation drug delivery business.”
The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank.
Image shows (L-R): Ian Wilding (Locate Therapeutics), Ash Patel (Mercia Fund Managers), Kevin Shakesheff (Locate Therapeutics), Grant Peggie (British Business Bank) and Robin Quirk (Locate Therapeutics)
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