The Oxford spinout has lured funding from OSI and the university itself as it aims to meet performance milestones for its peptide drug discovery programs.
Orbit Discovery, a UK-based peptide discovery spinout from University of Oxford, has closed a £6.9m ($9.1m) series A round led by university venture fund Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI).
The round also included University of Oxford itself, as well as IT services provider RT Ventures, Borealis Ventures and Perivoli Innovations, a subsidiary of investment group Perivoli Trust.
Oxford Technology and Innovations EIS Fund, managed by investment advisory partnership Oxford Investment Consultants, also took part, as did OT(S)EIS Fund, managed by Oxford Technology.
Founded in 2015, Orbit Discovery has developed a peptide screening platform that can help identify which peptide compounds are best suited for treating certain diseases.
The technology was originally used to link random peptides to T cells, to identify the position where antigens bind to immune system antibodies. Orbit has since entered into drug discovery and development programs with three unnamed biotech and pharmaceutical firms.
The spinout was co-founded by Graham Ogg and Terry Rabbitts, both professors at Oxford’s Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine.
The series A capital will help Orbit meet performance milestones for these partnerships as it seeks additional tie-ups and the opportunity to further expand its platform.
James Mallinson, partner at Oxford Investment Consultants, will join Orbit’s board of directors along with Phil Ferneau, managing director and co-founder of Borealis Ventures.
OSI had previously joined Oxford Investment Consultants and OT(S)EIS Fund for Orbit’s seed round of undisclosed size in 2016.
Alex Batchelor, chief executive of Orbit Discovery, said: “We have been very successful in delivering on Orbit’s strategy, leading to growth in both capability development and commercial collaborations.”
