A group of research scientists in conjunction with Cancer Research Technology, the specialist commercialisation company owned by the charity Cancer Research, and Cambridge University, have launched a new UK-based biomedical research company called Mission Therapeutics. The launch has been backed by investors including several corporate venturing funds.
Among the backers in Mission’s £6m ($9.8m) series A round are Roche Venture Fund, the corporate venturing unit of Switzerland-based healthcare conglomerate Hoffman-La Roche, and SR One, the corporate venturing division of UK-based pharmaceutical multinational GlaxoSmithKline.
The round was led by France-based venture capital firm Soffinova Partners, and was also participated in by the UK-based, university-linked investment organisation Imperial Innovations.
Mission Therapeutics has been spun-out in order to transfer cell biology technology discovered by the team, led by Cambridge University scientist Professor Steven Jackson, into drugs able to help combat a range of serious diseases, particularly cancer.
Graziano Seghezzi, partner at Sofinnova, said on behalf of the investors: "Novel, effective treatments for cancer remain in high demand. Mission Therapeutics, under Professor Jackson’s scientific leadership, has the potential to discover new molecularly targeted drugs that could revolutionize the way cancer patients are treated".