It has been an exciting start to the summer, as we have seen o2h Ventures shortlisted for two awards this year. Firstly, the UKBAA award for “Best Seed VC of the Year’ and secondly, the EISA award for ‘Impact Investing’. It’s great to have some recognition for the efforts we put into both selecting our investments and supporting them. o2h Ventures has made 30 investments since inception and is either the first investor or lead investor in ~50% of these deals. As Turbine closed their ‘€20M’ Series A investment last quarter, we are seeing other companies from our portfolio to closing similar size rounds. Watch this space for more updates.
The latest data from HMRC suggests that the S/EIS scheme continues to provide significant support to the UK’s early-stage ecosystem. From 2021-22, an impressive 4,480 companies raised a staggering £2,305 million through the EIS schemes, and additionally, 2,270 companies secured funds totaling £205 million through the SEIS schemes.
o2h Portfolio Highlights:
- Tay Therapeutics, a spinout from the University of Dundee has secured its second licensing deal with VYNE Therapeutics Inc. The agreement calls for an initial payment and subsequent instalments totalling up to $65 million.
- PharmEnable, a Cambridge University spinout successfully closed a $7.5 million pre-Series A funding, which was led by MP Healthcare Venture Management (MPH), the venture arm of Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Group.
- BiVictriX Therapeutics (AIM: BVX), based in Manchester, an Antibody Drug Conjugate platform company targeting Cancer has nominated clinical candidates for its lead programme.
- Alevin Therapeutics, a University of Nottingham spin-out focused on integrin inhibitors as novel treatments for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis has been shortlisted for EISA Awards in the category Best SEIS Investee Company.
- Neurocentrx Pharma Ltd, an Edinburgh-based psychedelics company developing oral Ketamine for mood disorders and other neurological diseases, announced initial positive results results from its Phase I clinical trial. The data indicate that Keticap® is safe and well tolerated up to the highest dose level.
- Cardiatec Biosciences, a Cambridge University spinout won “The One to Watch” award at the Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards 2023. Several other o2h Ventures portfolio companies were shortlisted finalists for awards including Five Alarm Bio Limited, Alevin Therapeutics Ltd, Arecor Therapeutics plc, and Stemnovate Limited.
Have a look at our existing portfolio: o2hventures.com/portfolio.
SEIS Fund Open for Investment
The o2h Human Health SEIS Fund is open for investment, and applications for investment should be submitted by 30th June 2023.
Next SEIS investment in the works
Camgene Therapeutics, a new company that will target diseases of the ear, building upon the success of the COVID vaccines utilizing Lipid Nanoparticles (LNPs) in transporting mRNA which is used as a therapeutic agent.
ChaiTime Episodes
For those interested in learning more about SEIS and biotech investing, we have released two captivating episodes of o2h ChaiTime Webinar in May. o2h ChaiTime is a series of lively conversations with leaders and experts from biotech, tech, VC, and the wider community. Click to watch these episodes online…
If you would like to know more about our open funds, please visit here or send us a short note to invest@o2h.com and we will schedule a call accordingly.
