Founding investor Mercia Technologies joined fund manager Invesco for the synthetic biology contractor’s latest round, taking its total funding past the $25m mark.
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…
