Qkine, a specialist developer and manufacturer of proteins for stem cell, organoid and regenerative medicine applications, has closed a £1.5m Series A investment round.
The new funds will be used to accelerate the global scale-up of its commercial operations and make key hires for its leadership team.
Spun out from the University of Cambridge in 2016, Qkine enables more reproducible and cost-effective scaling of stem cell, organoid and regenerative medicine applications.
The funding round attracted support from life science funds and angel investors including London-based Parkwalk, serial entrepreneur and founder of Abcam Jonathan Milner, and Cambridge-based investor Martlet Capital.
The company has also secured investment from its existing supporters, including Cambridge Enterprise and other angel investors.
The round will enable the next phase of Qkine’s growth, including the roll out of full commercial operations across East Asia, the US and Europe, as well as its expansion into new markets, such as Scandinavia.
In addition, the funding will be used to make key appointments to strengthen Qkine’s leadership team and accelerate the company’s scale-up and expansion of its product portfolio.
Dr Catherine Elton, CEO and Co-Founder, Qkine said: “Given the challenging circumstances that our industry is currently facing in light of the coronavirus pandemic, we are delighted by the proactive and overwhelming support that we – a UK-based life science manufacturing company – have received from both our existing and new investors.
“As we enter the exciting next phase of our growth, we look forward to drawing on the strength of our investor base as we build a leading global supplier of high-quality proteins to support scientists advancing stem cell, organoid and regenerative medicine.”