Locate Bio locks down $2.6m

Locate Bio, a UK-based biomedicine products spinout of University of Nottingham, received £2m ($2.6m) yesterday in a round featuring government-backed regional investment vehicle Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF).
MEIF is managed by investment firm Mercia Technologies, which led the transaction directly. Mercia, which invested $2.3m in the round, now owns a 21.6% direct equity stake in Locate Bio.
Founded in 2001 and formerly known as Locate Therapeutics, Locate Bio develops cell and gene therapies internally and also provides drug design services to third-party clients.
The spinout’s development pipeline includes a peptide-derived delivery system for gene therapies called IntraStem and a cellular delivery system dubbed Taos.
Taos has a thermo-set 3D porous structure that releases a human growth factor to repair tissues, with an initial focus on orthopaedic applications.
IntraStem exploits combinations of peptides with the aim of inserting genetic materials into cells without the use of viral vectors, which Locate Bio claims suffer from several drawbacks.
The funding will go towards further development as Locate Bio aims to add therapeutic indications to its purview, both through its in-house programs and through collaborations with third parties.
Locate Bio last raised $660,000 from Mercia Technologies in October 2018, after a $2.7m round the previous May that included $541,700 of capital from MEIF’s Proof of Concept and Early Stage Fund.
The latter deal was underwritten by Mercia’s Fund Managers subsidiary and also included money from the company’s EIS investment funds, according to BQ Live.
Peter Dines, chief operating officer and head of life sciences at Mercia Technologies, said: “Locate has continued to make important progress in developing its Taos and IntraStem technologies.
“These proprietary technologies have the potential to address multi-billion-pound markets in the exciting and fast-growing areas of gene and cell therapy.”