Apini, a small molecule drug development programme being advanced by Syncona’s accelerator Slingshot Therapeutics, has raised £1.8m to continue its development of treatments for chronic inflammatory diseases.
Spun out of the University of Manchester, and supported by the university’s Innovation Factory, the company is developing a novel small molecule for the treatment of diseases including Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis.
The funding comes from Northern Gritstone, who won BusinessCloud’s Northern Leaders Investor Award in January.
Apini was discovered by founding scientist Professor Sam Butterworth, who is renowned for his work in the invention of Tagrisso, a life-saving anti-cancer drug for EGFR mutant lung cancer that is used globally.
Slingshot was built by Syncona with an initial commitment of £12.5m to identify and advance de-risked therapeutic programmes from the work of leading academic researchers.
Apini is the first company to work with Slingshot following its launch in November 2024, with Northern Gritstone becoming the first co-investor.
“Apini is based on the groundbreaking drug development work of Professor Sam Butterworth from the University of Manchester, and is a fantastic example of life sciences company creation based on world-class research,” said Northern Gritstone chief executive, Duncan Johnson.
“We’re delighted to invest in Apini, alongside Syncona, and with the support of the Slingshot accelerator.”
Butterworth added: “This investment from Northern Gritstone supports Apini’s mission to treat inflammatory diseases without the induction of immune suppression.
“We look forward to advancing and accelerating the Apini programme which we believe can bring meaningful improvements to patients across a broad range of chronic inflammatory diseases.”