The spinout’s technology was fundamental to Oxford’s covid vaccine, prompting OSI and Future Planet Capital to back a $168m round.
Vaccitech, a UK-based developer of vaccines for infectious diseases and cancer spun out of University of Oxford, closed a $168m series B round today backed by the institution’s venture fund Oxford Sciences Innovation.
Future Planet Capital, a venture capital firm focused on university startups and spinouts, also took part in the round, which was led by M&G Investment Management, a division of impact investment manager M&G.
Internet company Tencent, biopharmaceutical firm Gilead Sciences and the state-owned Monaco Constitutional Reserve Fund also participated in the round together with unnamed new and existing investors.
Founded in 2016, Vaccitech launched with the aim of developing a universal flu vaccine and its clinical pipeline now includes assets aimed at chronic hepatitis B infection, persistent, high-risk human papillomavirus infection and prostate cancer.
It will use the series B capital, which included the conversion of $43m in convertible notes, to advance each of these three assets through phase 1/2 trials.
Vaccitech’s most notable success to date is its co-invention of AZD1222, the vaccine for covid-19 developed in partnership with the university’s Jenner Institute and pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca.
Find out more about this work in our feature article on the Oxford ecosystem, including an interview with Vaccitech chief executive Bill Enright, published last year.
Douglas Hansen-Luke, executive chairman of Future Planet Capital, said: “Our decision to support Vaccitech last year, before the results of the covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca trials were known, has been vindicated by the vaccine’s approval for emergency use by national and international regulators.
“The success of the covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca has increased our confidence in Vaccitech’s immunotherapy platform and our continuing support is signalled by our investment today.”
Vaccitech collected $27.1m in a 2018 series A round co-led by Oxford Sciences Innovation, technology conglomerate Alphabet’s GV unit and Sequoia China. The round also featured Neptune Ventures.
The spinout had already secured $14.5m in a 2016 seed round backed by Oxford Sciences Innovation, Invesco, Landsdowne and Woodford Investment Management.
