Oxford Sciences Innovation has contributed to a series B round for Evox Therapeutics, a spinout of University of Oxford that has also added GV as a shareholder.
Evox Therapeutics, a UK-based exosome therapeutics spinout of University of Oxford, closed a £35.5m ($45.4m) series B round today backed by university venture fund Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI).
University of Oxford also participated in the round, which was led by Redmile Group and featured GV, the corporate venturing arm of diversified conglomerate Alphabet, Panacea Healthcare Ventures, Borealis Ventures, Cowen Healthcare Investments and angel investors.
Founded in 2016, Evox Therapeutics is developing drugs for rare, life-threatening conditions with a high unmet need. The drugs target previously inaccessible tissues and compartments.
The spinout’s platform uses engineered exosomes – exosomes are a part of the human body that carries materials between cells – to smuggle treatments, including antibodies, past natural defences such as the blood brain barrier.
The underlying research was undertaken by Matthew Wood, professor of neuroscience at Oxford, with Samir El Andaloussi, research fellow at Oxford and assistant professor at Karolinska Institute.
The series B capital will allow Evox to advance its pipeline and move several drug candidates into the clinic. The money will also enable the spinout to continue development of its platform.
OSI previously injected £10m ($14.5m) in series A funding in 2016.
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.
