Biopharma company AstraZeneca has increased the capital in its corporate venturing fund to $400m, as it invests in life sciences company NeuProtect.

AstraZeneca, the biopharmaceutical corporation formed in 1999 through the merger of the Sweden-based Astra and the UK-based Zeneca Group, committed a further $100m to its corporate venturing unit, MedImmune Ventures, on Monday.

MedImmune was founded in 1988 as a biotechnology firm before being acquired by AstraZeneca in 2007, at which time it became AstraZeneca’s global biologics division.

MedImmune Ventures, launched in 2002, has continued to operate as a corporate venturing fund under AstraZeneca’s control, investing in companies developing small…