PharmEnable, a Cambridge, UK-based drug discovery company focused on chemical novelty, diversity and complexity, closed a $7.5M Pre-Series A funding round.
The round was led by MP Healthcare Venture Management, the venture arm of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Group, with participation from existing investors including Cambridge Enterprise, the commercialisation arm of the University of Cambridge, University of Cambridge Enterprise Fund VIII, managed by Parkwalk Advisors, Heyford Trust, o2h Ventures, Martlet Capital, Arrowfield Capital, Wren Capital and life science experienced angel investors including Jonathan Milner. Alongside the investment, PharmEnable’s Board has been expanded with Dr Jeffrey Moore joining as a Board Director, representing MP Healthcare. Dr Keith Blundy has replaced Dr Christine Martin as an Investor Director on behalf of Cambridge Enterprise.
The company intends to use the funds to advance and expand its portfolio of wholly owned and co-discovery projects across oncology and neurology targets, as well as supporting further platform R&D.
PharmEnable uses its proprietary platform to discover targeted therapies with the aim of replicating the specificity of biologics, but with improved efficacy, absorption and distribution properties enabled by custom-designed oral small molecules, which are also easier to scale and manufacture. The company’s approach combines advanced medicinal chemistry with AI technology, allowing it to unlock challenging biological targets by mapping unexplored chemical space.
PharmEnable has a pipeline of wholly owned oncology programmes, as well as ongoing co-discovery projects with several pharma and biotech companies, including a partnership with Sosei Heptares to unlock novel drug candidates for neurological disease. The wholly owned programmes focus on addressing some of the key challenges in oncology such as tumour penetration and overcoming resistance mechanisms, through designing novel, complex small molecules with improved selectivity and carefully balanced properties.
FinSMEs
22/05/2023