o2h Ventures is pleased to bring you insights into the areas and stages of biotech investments from our funds, along with an overview of the overall performance achieved to date.

So far, we have invested >$10M into >30 biotechs, many of which were in the early stages and have now progressed further. The main focus of our KI EIS fund in the next investments is being directed towards those companies that are further along the investment path, say 3+ years in, and thus potentially have a 5-year window to exit. As you will see below, we have invested in diseases of high unmet need, such as Anti-aging, Cancer, Depression, Diseases of the Ear and Eye, Psoriasis, Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and Infectious Diseases. We have invested in university spinouts from Cambridge, Oxford, UCL, Dundee, Sussex, and Nottingham, several of which we have led and have board positions.

Established in 2018, o2h Ventures (o2h) stands as an FCA-authorised Venture Capital company dedicated to investing in biotech therapeutic-focused companies across the UK. At the heart of our investment philosophy is to support novel biotech therapeutics and transformative technologies such as AI/ML.

A flavour of some of our investments that we may follow from this subscription include:

• Exonate, A Nottingham University spinout, seeking to start a Phase IIb clinical trial targeting Diabetic Retinopathy, a market that is currently unserved as Eylea injections are potentially prohibitively expensive. Exonate is developing a twice-daily drop into the eye. First Investment, o2h Ventures, 2019, o2h Chair.
• Alevin Therapeutics, another Nottingham University spinout, is currently in preclinical to target Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, this is an orphan disease affecting 5 million people globally, focused on the elderly. There are two drugs on the market to treat the disease with combined revenues of ~$2 billion; however, the average life span of a patient with IPF is approx. 3-5 years thus there is strong potential to improve on these. Pliant Therapeutics’ [NASDAQ:PLRX] most advanced asset is in a Phase IIa clinical trial against the same therapeutic target but with a different delivery mechanism. It has a market cap of US$1.3bn, First Investment, 2022, o2h Chair.
• Kuano, Developing a quantum processing platform to design small molecule drugs to target transition state proteins. This platform company has interesting start points against Pancreatic Cancer, Triple-negative Breast Cancer and Bowel Cancer. The platform was able to identify these start points using the quantum platform much faster than the traditional drug discovery process. First Investment, 2019, o2h Director.

o2h Ventures has been recognised as one of the top 3 most active VCs in the Biotech sector, according to the BIA Financial Report 2023. The BIA is the main industrial body for the biotech industry and is highly credible, with big pharma from Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, and Eli Lilly having board representation. o2h Ventures currently also has a board seat. o2h Ventures was also a finalist at the Growth Investor Awards 2023 for the ‘Best EIS Manager – Specialist’ for the second consecutive year and won the runner-up title in the category.

Although o2h Ventures is nascent, the fund has demonstrated a consistently positive performance track record, trending upwards. The o2h therapeutics S/EIS Fund, our predecessor, has showcased promising returns, with a current unrealized total return of 1.83x. Valuations are based on the last investment round. 12 out of 19 of the portfolio companies in that fund have raised further funding rounds with a significant uplift in their valuations.

We have been actively involved in supporting our portfolio companies, and one such recent initiative is organizing the o2h chaitime portfolio pitch day. The event serves a dual purpose: connecting o2h Ventures’ portfolio companies with biotech investors worldwide and providing a platform for these companies to showcase their potential, interact with experienced investors, and build a potential pipeline for their funding round.

Following the success of our last chaitime portfolio pitch event, we are hosting another edition on the 22nd March 2024, commencing at 02:30 PM. The format would be the same: 10 minutes for a pitch, 6 biotech companies, 1 keynote speaker, and time for networking drinks—all on a Friday. Registration Link to watch online – Click Here.