Oxford Genetics locks in $8.5m

Oxford Genetics, a UK-based synthetic biology services provider founded by a former University of Oxford scientist, has secured £6.5m ($8.5m) in funding at a post-money valuation of approximately $40m.
The round included Mercia Technologies, the research-focused investment firm Mercia Technologies that is also Oxford Genetics’ founding investor, as well as fund manager Invesco Asset Management and financial services firm Canaccord Genuity.
Mercia contributed $520,000 to the round but its stake was diluted from 40.5% to approximately 33%. It came after about $17m in earlier funding for the company.
Founded in 2011, Oxford Genetics contracts out synthetic biology services to facilitate the development of biologics including gene and cell therapies. It stresses its expertise in DNA design, optimising protein expression, developing cell lines and enhancing viral delivery vectors.
The company was founded by Ryan Cawood, a former visiting scientist and postdoctoral researcher at University of Oxford. It plans to use the capital to secure its market share in synthetic biology.
Oxford Genetics received $9.7m in an August 2018 round featuring Mercia Technologies and Invesco.
Mercia initially invested almost $260,000 in the company in 2013 through third-party managed funds before adding $340,000 in direct investment the following year as part of a $510,000 round that also included a $170,000 prize from the pharmaceuticals-orientated TSB Smart Award.
Mark Payton, chief executive of Mercia Technologies and a non-executive director at Oxford Genetics, said: “We have backed Oxford Genetics since day one, working closely with Ryan who has built both an impressive team and a highly scalable business model.
“Full year revenue to April 2019 is set to achieve circa 300% growth on last year and the additional investment announced today will continue to facilitate this growth, as Oxford Genetics moves from an important domestic business to a global player in this specialist field of biotech.”