UK-based exosome therapeutics developer Evox Therapeutics closed a £35.5m ($45.4m) series B round today backed by GV, the corporate venturing arm of diversified conglomerate Alphabet.
Redmile Group led the round, which also featured University of Oxford and its patient capital fund, Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), as well as Panacea Healthcare Ventures, Borealis Ventures, Cowen Healthcare Investments and assorted angel investors.
Spun out of University of Oxford in 2016, Evox Therapeutics is developing drugs for rare, life-threatening conditions with a high unmet need. The drugs target previously inaccessible tissues and compartments.
The spinout’s platform uses engineered exosomes – exosomes are a part of the human body that carries materials between cells – to smuggle treatments, including antibodies, past natural defences such as the blood brain barrier.
The underlying research was undertaken by Matthew Wood, professor of neuroscience at Oxford, with Samir El Andaloussi, research fellow at Oxford and assistant professor at Karolinska Institute.
The series B capital will allow Evox to advance its pipeline and move several drug candidates into the clinic. The money will also enable the spinout to continue development of its platform.
OSI previously injected £10m ($14.5m) in series A funding in 2016.