Hauser and Horizon back Axol with near 1m new cash

Cambridge UK stem cell technology startup Axol Bioscience has secured 800,000 in new equity funding bringing on board an elite team of heavy-hitters in the life-science investment world.

Dr Hermann Hauser, a Cambridge and Silicon Valley entrepreneurial great, and angel funder Dr Darrin Disley CEO of personalised medicines front runner Horizon Discovery are among the industry heavyweights who have piled into the round.

The funding will be used to diversify the companys products and expand its marketing capabilities.

Axol produces a range of human cells and tissues from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells - a type of stem cell derived from easily-obtained blood or skin cells.

The iPS cells are used in the testing of new drug compounds as well as in the development of therapies for diseases such as Alzheimers, which affects 24 million people worldwide.

Axol launched its iPS cell-derived neural progenitor cells and neurons in 2013 and has already won contracts to provide its cellular platforms to academic pharmaceutical and biotech research bodies, including Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford Universities, Genentech, Janssen and Takeda Pharmaceuticals.

The company, already regarded as a global authority on iPS cell-derived research, is felt to hold significant market advantage as its production methods address ethical concerns associated with the use of human embryonic stem cells and provide an alternative to animal testing.

Dr Hauser, a Silicon Valley Hall of Fame luminary and co-founder & partner at Amadeus Capital Partners, said: Axol is addressing a global market with new tools that address debilitating and sometimes fatal diseases. The companys research is vital to the development of potential treatments and, we hope one day, cures.

Amadeus is an ardent supporter of science-backed businesses and we are delighted to support Axols progress from our latest Early Stage fund.

Dr Disley, CEO of Horizon Discovery and an angel investor with a sure touch in backing winners added: I am pleased to participate in the investment in Axol Bioscience along with a premier group of life science investors who have a detailed knowledge of building businesses in this sector.

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Hauser and Horizon back Axol with near 1m new cash