AAA Start Codon collars Novartis for debut fund

Start Codon collars Novartis for debut fund

UK-based healthcare and life sciences accelerator Start Codon closed its first venture capital fund at £15m ($19.7m) with backing from pharmaceutical firm Novartis and Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) yesterday.

Founded in April 2019, Start Codon recently enrolled its second cohort on the way to its target of sustaining 50 startups in its target sectors, with each set to be equipped with at least £250,000 in seed funding in addition to mentoring and access to lab resources.

The accelerator showcased its first four portfolio companies in June 2020: functional genomics platform developer Enhanc3D Genomics, cancer antibody conjugate developer Spirea, cell-based drug screening startup Semarion and rare disease drug developer Drishti Discoveries.

Start Codon was formed with funding and support from CIC and Genentech, a subsidiary of pharmaceutical firm Roche, as well as Babraham Bioscience Technologies, manager of the bioscience-focused Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge.

Jason Mellad, Start Codon’s co-founder and CEO, said: “With both Genentech and Novartis on board to support our cohort companies in their development, and potentially provide opportunities for commercial partnerships in the future, we are extremely well-positioned to nurture and commercialise the next-generation of world-class healthcare companies, which we hope will positively impact many patient’s lives.”

The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing.

By Robert Lavine

Robert Lavine is special features editor for Global Venturing.

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