$50m Series C may prove precursor to IPO for bit.bio
The company, which was named Life Science Innovation champion in the 2024 Business Weekly Awards, says the injection of patient capital from a major UK investor represents a significant endorsement of its mission to transform the future of drug development and innovation from a UK power base.
bit.bio adds that the backing underpins its march towards several key strategic milestones, including accelerating the development and delivery of its core product pipeline while scaling its operational footprint to meet global demand.
It says it is expanding into the multi-billion dollar toxicology market and generating the high-fidelity datasets necessary to train advanced AI models for drug discovery.
Central to the effort is the company's ioCells™ technology, which facilitates a global shift toward New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), in particular, advanced cell-based models that improve the predictiveness of new medicines while reducing industry reliance on animal testing.
Alongside this funding, the company has recruited Lord David Prior to its leadership team as an independent director and Board Chair. Lord Prior’s 20-year tenure in UK Life Sciences and health policy will be vital as bit.bop navigates its growth from a private entity toward public markets.
CEO Przemek Obloj, said: "By providing reliable human cells for research and safety testing, we’re helping to accelerate drug development and build a world class life sciences business in the UK. Our technology reduces reliance on animal testing while improving the relevance and accuracy of pre-clinical research. With fresh backing from M&G and our wider investor base, we can accelerate development, from in silico model training through our most established in vitro discovery models and towards safety testing."
Cornel Chiriac, Investment Director of Crossover, M&G Investments, said: “The investment of patient capital into a fast-growing private UK company, spun out from the University of Cambridge, marks a major vote of confidence in innovation and the future of drug development in the UK. bit.bio’s platform makes cell programming reliable, scalable, and commercially ready in a rapidly evolving field.
“As a long-term investor, M&G is committed to backing the next generation of UK businesses and driving economic progress. With a growing global footprint, bit.bio is a UK success story poised for international growth.”
Lord Prior added: “bit.bio’s technology is world class and the opportunity is now converting that advantage into sustained commercial performance. I look forward to supporting the team as it expands its customer reach and becomes a key partner for pharmaceutical, biotech and research organisations worldwide.”
