Orbit Discovery is a privately held biopharmaceutical company based in Oxford that focuses on discovering candidate peptide therapeutics using proprietary bead‑based and microfluidic affinity and cell‑based functional screening platforms. Its platform enables high‑throughput screening of peptide libraries for both target binding and subsequent activity in cell‑based functional assays, making it applicable to soluble proteins and membrane‑bound targets such as GPCRs. The technology interrogates the activity of each library member against single cells, allowing identification of functional molecules with potential agonistic or antagonist properties. These functional leads can serve as starting points for development of peptides, small molecules, other therapeutics, or bioconjugates for targeted delivery. The company offers peptide discovery services to the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry and intends to use new financing to accelerate that commercial growth. Management states the proceeds will position Orbit as a market leader in peptide discovery as it seeks to develop future therapies. Orbit Discovery develops a proprietary peptide identification and optimization platform originally created to present diverse libraries of peptides to probe cell surfaces and establish T‑cell epitopes. The technology supports non‑natural amino acids, constrained peptides, and post‑translationally modified peptides, enabling internal and partnered peptide drug discovery and development programs. The company was co‑founded in 2015 by Professors Graham Ogg and Terry Rabbitts from Oxford University’s Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine and is led by CEO Alex Batchelor. Orbit plans to use the Series A proceeds to expand platform industrialization. The company collaborates with biotechnology and pharmaceutical partners to advance its discovery programs. No operating metrics were disclosed in the article.

Total raised

$17M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Jul 2021