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Pioneering specialist in regenerative medicine, Locate Therapeutics Ltd, has received a £2million finance package from Mercia Fund Managers to help fast-track its medical inventions to market.
Locate is a University of Nottingham spin-out based around the research interests of Kevin Shakesheff, Professor of Advanced Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering in the School of Pharmacy. Specialising in regenerative medicine and the delivery of biopharmaceuticals Kevin has invented numerous new delivery systems for cells and growth factors and applied these systems in the regeneration of bone, cartilage, liver, nerve and corneal tissue.
Part of a £2million finance package, underwritten by Mercia Fund Managers, including Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund and Mercia EIS funds, this cash injection will help the firm fast-track its medical inventions to market, as well as make six more expert hires.
Dr Andy Naylor, CEO of Nottingham Technology Ventures Ltd, which manages the University of Nottingham’s spin-out portfolio said: “I am delighted that Locate has received the first equity investment from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund. Locate’s technologies deliver stem cells and regenerative drugs to grow bone in patients, such as those with diabetes who fail to repair after first line treatment. The money will enable the company to continue to develop and commercialise patented technology from the University of Nottingham to benefit patients around the world.”
Locate Therapeutics’ has developed patented TAOS™ (Targetted, Orchestrated Signalling) technology, a world first in tissue repair, with multiple medical applications. Used as a porous tissue scaffold it creates a versatile drug and cell delivery system for use in orthopaedic medicine, drug delivery, cell therapy and culture, as well as veterinary medicine.
Having transitioned from the research and development phase in the last three years, this added investment will allow Locate Therapeutics, based in MediCity, Nottingham, to bring in additional expertise and develop its business capacity as it markets its products to medical providers across the world.
Dr Ian Wilding, 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”.
Julian Dennard, Investment Director at Mercia, said: “We will be 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. 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.”
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