Participated · Equity · Feb 2025

Monument Therapeutics is developing MT1988, a novel fixed‑dose combination drug aimed at treating cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS). The company pairs the drug with a computer‑based digital biomarker that measures latent inhibition to stratify patients by attentional filtering and predict likely responders. MT1988 has shown substantial cognitive improvement in preclinical studies and combines two well‑characterised small molecules acting on nicotinic receptors, formulated to enhance cognition while mitigating common side effects. Monument is conducting a Phase 1 safety study in healthy volunteers and expects results by the end of next month (also noted as expected in Q2 2025); if successful it plans Phase 2 trials in early‑stage schizophrenia patients later this year. The drug is intended to be used alongside existing antipsychotic medications as a complementary therapy. The company recently raised funding to support progression of MT1988 through further clinical development. Monument Therapeutics is a Manchester, UK-based precision neuroscience company led by CEO Dr Jenny Barnett. The company leverages a novel drug development strategy that uses digital assessments of cognition to match patients with pharmaceutical treatments. Its lead asset, MT1988, targets the cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia. Monument plans to use newly raised funds to support the clinical development of MT1988. The company announced a £1M equity investment from the Forster Foundation alongside two board appointments—Dr Randeep Grewal as Chair and David Ford as an Investor Director. The financing is intended to advance MT1988 toward clinical milestones and further the company’s precision‑neuroscience approach. Monument Therapeutics is a precision neuroscience company spun out of Cambridge Cognition in 2021 that uses proprietary digital biomarkers and digital cognitive assessments to stratify patients for CNS drug development. The company focuses on matching patients with appropriately targeted compounds to reduce heterogeneity in trials. Its pipeline includes programmes for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and for neuroinflammation; the lead candidate, MT1988, is a novel fixed‑dose combination that showed substantial cognitive improvement in preclinical studies. Monument has completed a £1.0m fundraise and announced a further £0.5m grant to enable clinical development of MT1988, with first clinical trials expected to begin in the coming weeks. If those trials are successful, a Phase 2 clinical trial is expected to begin in early 2025. Cambridge Cognition retains a significant shareholding in Monument, which was reduced from 28% to 25% after the round. Monument Therapeutics is a spin-out from Cambridge Cognition that develops digital biomarkers to stratify patients in neuroscience drug development. It uses proprietary cognitive assessments licensed from Cambridge Cognition, including CANTABTM, to identify patient subgroups with homogeneous neurobiology. The company combines these digital stratification tools with repurposed drugs that have favourable safety profiles to de‑risk development. Its lead programmes target cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Monument plans to commercialise its digital biomarkers across multiple neuroscience indications to support R&D and therapeutic development. The company relocated to Alderley Park, Cheshire and appointed Jenny Barnett as CEO; Cambridge Cognition has retained a minority shareholding.

Led · Equity · Jan 2025

Atelerix is a Newcastle University biotech spin-out commercializing a patented hypothermic preservation technology and hydrogels that extend shelf life and simplify shipping of cells, tissues, viruses and blood products. Its gel-based solution enables storage and transport at 4–25°C, allows cells to maintain over 90% viability for 14 days at room temperature, and removes reliance on cryogenic shipping and specialised equipment. The company says the approach can cut per-shipment costs by 50–80%, uses standard packaging rather than dry ice or cryogenic containers, and eliminates energy‑intensive freezers and harmful refrigerants. Atelerix reports a 99.7% reduction in CO2 emissions for a single shipment versus traditional methods and has shown real-world resilience in an extended 10–12 day customs-delay test in which 40% of cells survived and were regrown. The firm highlights partnerships and customer validation with life-science companies and plans to use new funding to boost branding, sales and widespread adoption of its hydrogels. Financially, the company has raised £750,000 in the reported round, bringing year-to-date funding to £1.25 million. Atelerix is a Cambridge and Newcastle, UK-based spin-out from the University of Newcastle commercializing hydrogel cell encapsulation technology. Its core product is a hydrogel solution for the storage and transport of viable cells, including stem cells and cell-based assays, at ambient temperatures. The technology is positioned to support companies that sell or use cells and tissues for drug discovery, testing, and development of cell therapies, as well as stem cell storage providers. The company intends to use the funds from its seed round to bring its cell storage products to market. Leadership includes CEO Mick McLean and scientific founder Professor Che Connon. The company closed a seed funding round (amount undisclosed) to advance commercialization.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2023

Pencil Biosciences develops a proprietary, modular gene editing and modulation platform that is non‑CRISPR in composition and significantly smaller than Cas‑based technologies. The company intends to deepen and widen the capabilities of its platform to catalyse new therapeutic options for patients with rare diseases and cancer. Pencil describes its technology as modular in design and focused on editing and modulation applications across a range of uses. The startup is led by CEO Dr. Amanda Smith, with primary founder and CTO Dr. Rajik Ibrahim and Chair Dr. Jon Moore. Founded in 2019, the company is pursuing further development of its platform using newly raised funds. Financial operating metrics were not disclosed in the article.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2023

Kuano provides a quantum simulation platform that enables scientists to see and model enzymes in their dynamic state and combines those enzyme profiles with AI tools to predict optimal targeting structures. The platform has been validated in three separate disease areas, including bowel cancer and lymphoma. The company plans to use the new funding to further validate its platform, pursue strategic partnerships, and grow through recruitment. Kuano was co-founded in 2020 by Vid Stojevic, David Wright, Parminder Ruprah, and Jarryl D’Oyley, who bring expertise in quantum physics, molecular modelling, drug hunting, and computational medicinal chemistry. The company is based in Cambridge, UK and is focused on using its combined quantum-AI approach to open new possibilities for more effective drug design. Kuano.ai provides a software platform for quantum modelling of enzymes, combining quantum physics, artificial intelligence and medicinal chemistry to discover therapeutics focused on enzyme inhibition. The company is advancing its own pipeline of novel therapeutics while also engaging in collaborative programs with academic and commercial partners. Kuano recently entered a research collaboration with Alzheimer’s Research UK and the University College London Drug Discovery Institute to identify inhibitors for degenerative neurological disorders. It raised £1m in seed funding and intends to use the proceeds to expand the technology team, further develop its platform and asset development, and create a data bank for use with partners. The company is led by Co-Founder and CEO Dr. Vid Stojevic and is based in London, UK.

Participated · Series A · May 2023

PharmEnable uses a proprietary platform that combines advanced medicinal chemistry with AI to discover targeted, custom-designed oral small molecules that aim to replicate the specificity of biologics while improving efficacy, absorption and distribution. The platform maps unexplored chemical space to unlock challenging biological targets by designing novel, complex small molecules with improved selectivity and carefully balanced properties. Its small-molecule approach is intended to be easier to scale and manufacture than biologics. PharmEnable has a pipeline of wholly owned oncology programmes and multiple co-discovery projects with pharma and biotech partners, including a collaboration with Sosei Heptares focused on neurological disease. The company plans to use recent financing to advance and expand its wholly owned and co-discovery projects across oncology and neurology and to support further platform R&D. PharmEnable combines advanced medicinal chemistry with AI-enabled tools to predict improved small-molecule hits and design highly complex molecules that mimic natural shapes. Its platform comprises ChemUniverse, a diversity-focused virtual database, and ChemSeek, AI-enabled tools for matching structure and ligand data to targets. The company focuses on addressing challenging and previously undruggable targets such as protein–protein interactions and epitranscriptomic modifications. PharmEnable plans to transition from a service-led business to an in-house drug development company and will invest the new funding into a pipeline across disease areas including cancer and neurodegenerative disease. It will continue strategic partnerships with pharma, innovative biotechs, and academia while expanding its scientific team and leadership. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Dr Hannah Sore and was spun out from the University of Cambridge in 2016; it had been financed to date by its founders and service-based revenues.