– UK, Oxford – SpyBiotech, a British biotechnology company with a novel vaccine platform technology targeting infectious diseases, cancer, and chronic diseases, today announced it has raised $32.5 million in Series A equity financing led by a new investor Braavos Investment Advisers joined by new investor Oxford Investment Consultants. Founding investors Oxford Sciences Innovation and GV also participated, alongside the UK Government’s Future Fund, converting a prior convertible loan into equity.
The company also announced the appointment of Lutz Giebel as Chairman as the first step in providing strengthened governance and oversight as the company expands.
The Series A round brings SpyBiotech’s total funding since its spin-out in 2017 from the University of Oxford, in collaboration with Oxford University Innovation, to $39 million.
“SpyBiotech is built on decades of ground-breaking vaccine research. The potential of its platform technology offers significant scope to tackle some of the biggest challenges in medicine. Braavos Investment Advisers is thrilled to be on board as the company reaches a critical inflection point in its clinical development plans and we are delighted that Lutz Giebel will support with governance.” said Andre Crawford-Brunt, General Partner, Braavos Investment Advisers.
James Wong, Principal, Oxford Sciences Innovation and Board Member, SpyBiotech, said: “We are proud to have invested in SpyBiotech since its inception, backing a mission-driven team from the University of Oxford focused on developing safe and effective vaccines that address global unmet medical needs. We’re delighted to have worked with GV to support Sumi and the team to attract a high-quality investor syndicate led by Braavos and an experienced Chair in Lutz.”
Dr. Jane Smit, Oxford Investment Consultants, said: “We are thrilled to invest in SpyBiotech. The founders’ Jenner Institute vaccinology pedigree, together with their commitment to developing safe, low-cost, rapid deployment vaccines for unmet needs makes this a compelling investment.”
Professor Sumi Biswas, CEO, and co-Founder of SpyBiotech commented: “SpyBiotech is delighted to welcome our new investors and Chairman. Braavos and OIC complement our existing register of supportive and sophisticated investors and Lutz Giebel brings years of governance experience and expertise. These developments position us well as we accelerate our clinical development program.”
About Lutz Giebel
Lutz has significant operational, governance, and investment experience gained over the course of a 30 plus year career in biopharma in the US. He has served on the Boards of 16 biopharma companies and held several executive positions, including Managing Partner at SV Life Sciences, an international healthcare-focused venture capital firm, based in San Francisco. SpyBiotech further strengthens its Board through the appointment of Andre Crawford-Brunt, General Partner, Braavos Investment Advisers.
Lutz Giebel, Chairman, SpyBiotech, said: “I’ve been involved with many biopharma companies over the course of my career but this is one of the most exciting ones I have encountered. SpyBiotech has a unique platform technology based on decades of vaccine scientific excellence. The COVID-19 vaccine development program has shifted the company into an accelerated phase of development. I’m looking forward to supporting Sumi and the team and working with our incoming and existing investors to move this exciting vaccine platform through clinical development.”
About SpyBiotech
SpyBiotech is a British biotechnology company with a novel vaccine platform technology to target infectious diseases, cancer, and chronic diseases.
Based on science developed at the University of Oxford, SpyBiotech’s novel vaccine platform is based on a proprietary protein “superglue” technology which binds antigens to vaccine delivery platforms in a way which minimizes delivery risk and enhances immunogenicity and efficacy.
The technology is one of the safest and most effective ways to create vaccines: cost-effective and highly scalable. This makes it ideal for use against infectious diseases in challenging environments, such as in the developing world, but also with potential application in non-infectious disease settings such as cancer.
SpyBiotech has the exclusive rights from the University of Oxford to apply, commercialize and sub-license the SpyTag/SpyCatcher technology in vaccine development.
The company’s lead candidate is against human cytomegalovirus, with clinical studies planned for 2022 and the company sees a range of development opportunities in infectious diseases and beyond. In 2020, SpyBiotech signed an exclusive global licensing agreement with the Serum Institute of India for the development of a novel virus-like-particle vaccine targeting COVID-19.
SpyBiotech is supported by high-quality investors including Braavos Investment Advisers, Oxford Sciences Innovation, the capital investor for the University of Oxford, and GV. The company has raised $39 million in funding to date.
For more information: https://www.spybiotech.com/
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