Nuclera, a biotechnology company accelerating protein expression and purification workflows through its benchtop protein system, has completed a £57 million financing round.
The fundraise was led by Elevage Medical Technologies, backed by Patient Square Capital, and joined by British Patient Capital, the largest domestic investor in UK venture and venture growth opportunities, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Jonathan Milner, GK Goh, M&G Catalyst, E Ink Holdings, Michael D. McCreary, Uni Power Group, and Verve Ventures.
The investment will enable the continued commercialisation of Nuclera’s eProtein Discovery benchtop system, particularly in the US and across Europe.
Nuclera’s eProtein Discovery system is designed to speed up protein expression and purification in research labs, including those using AI for protein design. The system reduces the time and cost of these processes by automating construct screening, allowing for protein scale-up, and producing milligram amounts of protein in less than 48 hours, compared to the months or years other methods can take.
Using digital microfluidics, protein quality assays, and cell-free protein synthesis on eProtein Discovery cartridges, eProtein Discovery provides rapid access to high-quality proteins at scale, whether using cell-free or cell-based methods.
The eProtein Discovery system has already been installed at contract research organisations, BioTech and BioPharma companies, as well as at leading academic institutes, including University College London, University of Cambridge, University of Southampton, University of Manchester, The Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) in Belgium, and the CRUK Cambridge Institute.
“This significant investment demonstrates continued confidence in our team, our eProtein Discovery system, and our potential to revolutionise the way proteins are made,” said Dr Michael Chen, CEO and co-founder.
“This funding will accelerate our mission to provide ready-to-use benchtop protein screening and making tools to empower protein scientists around the world. We are excited to enhance our support for our customers, enabling them to make proteins for drug discovery more efficiently and effectively for many years to come.”