Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.
Varinos, a Japan-based developer of a genome analysis technology for infertility treatment, has raised ¥300m ($2.9m) from SMBC Venture Capital and Miyako Capital, respective venture capital vehicles for financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Kyoto University.
Ceryx Medical, a UK-based heart failure treatment developer spun out of the universities of Bristol and Bath, has obtained £575,000 ($733,000) in a seed round including co-investment fund University of Bristol Enterprise Fund, managed by Parkwalk Advisors. The round was also backed by government-owned Development Bank of Wales and angel investors. Founded in 2016, Ceryx Medical has devised a bioelectronic implant that mimics nerve centres in the body to control processes including heart rate, walking and peristalsis. The technology will initially underpin a cardiac pacemaker to treat heart failure, with the seed funding going to expanding headcount and operations ahead of early clinical trials due to start by early 2023.
Cellinta, a UK-based gene therapy spinout of University of Edinburgh, has raised an undisclosed sum from research charity Cancer Research UK and fund manager SV Health Investors. The funding will help progress Cellinta’s drug pipeline, which leverage genetic materials to address cancerous stem cells in multiple solid tumour forms of the disease. Cellinta is based on research led by Steven Pollard, a senior cancer research fellow at Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre, a partnership of University of Edinburgh and Cancer Research UK.
