Cambridge, UK
o2h Ventures has made a follow-on EIS investment in Qkine, a Cambridge University spinout and a specialist developer and manufacturer of proteins for stem cell, organoid, and regenerative medicine applications. This latest investment is from the o2h human health knowledge-intensive EIS fund.
Qkine is renowned for its expertise in the design and manufacture of complex growth factors, including members of the TGF-beta family, which are produced using animal-origin free manufacturing processes, ensuring exceptional biochemical purity and bioactivity.
Having initially invested in Qkine in 2020 at the seed stage, o2h Ventures made a further investment in 2022. Since then, Qkine has been on a growth trajectory as it expanded its operations and established global collaborations and partnerships.
The newly raised funds will support several strategic initiatives, including the international expansion of operations, enhancing the intellectual property strategy, and developing cell therapy-grade products.
Sunil Shah, CEO of o2h Ventures, said:
We at o2h Ventures are excited to support the growth Qkine as they seek to expand in the US markets. Catherine has set Qkine up for success with a great operational facility in Cambridge, UK with products and capacity for exponential growth.
Catherine Elton, CEO of Qkine, said:
We are delighted to receive continued support from o2h as we scale international operations and develop our innovative bioactive protein portfolio to address the needs of basic stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, cell therapy and drug discovery. Qkine benefits greatly from the deep sector expertise and network nurtured by the o2h team.
About Qkine
Qkine manufactures high-purity, animal-origin-free growth factors, cytokines, and other complex proteins for life science applications, including stem cell and organoid culture. Headquartered in Cambridge, UK, the company addresses critical biological, quality, and scalability challenges through proprietary recombinant protein production processes combined with advanced protein engineering techniques. Its commitment to innovation supports emerging fields such as stem cell models, organoids, cellular agriculture, cell therapy, regenerative medicine, and organ-on-a-chip technologies. By delivering more reliable tools for research and biomanufacturing, Qkine seeks to accelerate the impact of these technologies on human health and well-being.
Qkine is an ISO 9001:2015 certified company, providing full traceability and extensive product documentation. Exceptional transparency, the Qkine Nine Point Quality Commitment, and integrated scientific support are designed to facilitate scale-up and commercial cell manufacturing.
For more information, please visit qkine.com, email customerservice@qkine.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
About o2h Ventures
The o2h Ventures ‘Human Health’ SEIS and KI EIS funds make tax-efficient investments in Pre-Seed and seed-stage companies that address human disease: we fund the development of novel therapeutic treatments; we help build new services and tools offerings throughout the biotech ecosystem, and we spur the creation of software & artificial intelligence that will change healthcare.
The o2h team are leaders in the biotech community and have been actively involved as investors, holding various board/industry positions as well as being engaged in grassroots scientific activity for over 20 years. o2h Ventures operates from their proprietary 2.7 acre Mill SciTech Park where they are developing a unique model for incubating small life science companies.
For more information or to invest in the fund, please visit www.o2hventures.com
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Juhi Shah
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