• PolyProx

  Participated · Seed · Mar 2020

  PolyProx Therapeutics is developing polyproxin® molecules that target and remove disease‑causing proteins using the cell’s natural degradation machineries, with an initial focus on oncology. The company aims to address aberrant, previously hard‑to‑drug proteins that have proven difficult to target with small molecules or monoclonal antibodies. It is a spin‑out from the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge, based on over a decade of research and intellectual property from Professor Laura Itzhaki’s laboratory. Serial Cambridge biotech entrepreneurs Kevin Moulder (Chief Operating Officer) and Andrew Sandham (Executive Chairman) lead the team, and the company recently moved to new laboratories in Cambridge. The new funding will be used to deliver in vivo proof‑of‑concept data for polyproxin® molecule leads against two oncology drug targets. That in vivo data is intended to form the basis for a Series A financing in 2021. PolyProx Therapeutics is a University of Cambridge spinout based on over a decade of research and IP from Professor Laura Itzhaki’s laboratory, focused on discovering novel biopharmaceuticals to treat cancer. The company is developing a new class of drugs called Polyproxin™ molecules that selectively target tumour cells and trigger the cell’s natural protein degradation machinery to arrest tumour growth. Polyproxin™ molecules use protein scaffolds to link a targeting entity and a degradation trigger, designed for access to tumour cells and recyclable activity. The approach aims to address hard-to-drug targets and could be relevant for major cancers such as lung, colorectal and pancreatic. Leadership includes Founder and CSO Professor Laura Itzhaki, COO Kevin Moulder and Executive Chairman Andrew Sandham. PolyProx is based at the Babraham Research Campus, is currently recruiting, and raised £3.4m in seed capital to support validation of the technology across a range of tumour targets over the next two years.

• Zegami

  Led · Equity · Jul 2019

  Zegami offers a visual data exploration platform that lets organisations search, filter, tag, sort and visually analyse large collections of images and multimodal data. Developed at Oxford University and spun out in 2016, the platform aims to democratise data analysis by making complex datasets immediately comprehensible through interactive visualisation. Zegami reports 35 clients and several case studies across healthcare, art valuation, social media analytics and HR people analytics. The company says organisations using the platform save on average two hours per worker per day through effective visual search and analysis. Zegami plans to use new funding to develop its next-generation data visualisation platform and raise its profile through marketing and commercial partnerships with LiveTiles and Microsoft. Together with previous equity rounds and funding, Zegami is investing £4.0M into its technology and commercialisation efforts. Zegami provides data discovery and analytics tools to manage and sort collections of images and data. Its platform can display millions of images, documents, movies, 3D objects, or dashboards in a single field of view that users can search, sort, filter, or group in real time. The technology is designed to enable rapid exploration and analysis of large visual and multimedia datasets. Zegami is an Oxford University spin-out. Its current financial activity includes participation in a Series A equity investment involving external investors. Zegami enables users to view large collections of images and associated metadata in a single field of view and to perform intuitive data analysis. The company was spun out of the University of Oxford Computational Biology Research Group in February 2016. Its platform can display tens of thousands of images, documents, video, 3D objects and dashboards within one view. Users can search, sort, filter and group content in real time. Zegami’s software can be integrated into existing database management and business intelligence reporting systems or sit above them as a separate component layer. The company has received a final investment from the University of Oxford Isis Fund II.

• Metaboards

  Participated · Equity · Jun 2018

  Metaboards develops metamaterials-based wireless charging technology intended to eliminate alignment requirements and enable charging of multiple non-metal devices on the same surface. Its approach uses engineered metamaterials arranged in geometric structures to improve vertical reach and penetration, allowing chargers to be placed under surfaces and charge through tabletops. Founded in 2016 by Oxford University professors and researchers, the company has a working prototype it plans to demo at CES and Mobile World Congress. Metaboards is in discussions with OEMs and says companies have expressed interest in licensing the technology within six to 12 months. The startup will use the $5 million funding to expand the team and to bring its patented technology to market and extend capabilities across wireless power platforms. Investors in the round include Oxford Sciences Innovation, RT Capital Management, and Woodford Investment Management, with Oxford Sciences Innovation leading the financing.

No current team members are available.