Venture capital firm Epidarex Capital has secured more than £47.5m ($79.5m) from investors including pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly for a fund that will invest in early-stage UK life science and healthtech companies.
The investment marks Lilly’s first in a UK-based VC fund. Other backers for the fund, which will also target university spin-outs, included university King’s College London, European Investment Fund, Scottish Enterprise and Strathclyde Pension Fund.
“Lilly’s commitment to this pioneering Epidarex fund will increase collaboration across industry and academia to help speed the delivery of new treatments for unmet medical needs,” said Elaine Sullivan, vice president of global external research and development at Eli Lilly.
“This investment reflects Lilly’s strong belief in the excellence of life science research and development in the UK and will complement our own R&D and existing academic partnerships to help make life better for patients around the world.”
Companies in the healthcare sector to secure funding from Epidarex Capital, formerly known as Rock Spring Ventures, so far in 2014 include oncological drug developer Confluence Life Sciences and optical molecular imaging company Edinburgh Molecular Imaging.