Big funding boost means firm can trade worldwide
Northern Echo
11th February 2010
A specialist biotechnology company has received a further boost by securing private equity funding worth £310,000 in a bid to bring more of its products to the worldwide commercial market.
Reinnervate Limited, a spin off from Durham University, secured the funding from the Business Investors Group (BiG) and North Star Equity Investors.
The deal was advised on by a corporate finance team from Tait Walker chartered accountants, of Newcastle.
Reinnervate, established in 2002 by Professor Stefan Przyborski, develops innovative products for the management of biological cell cultures and has recently acquired lab space at the science and technology park NETPark, in Sedgefield, County Durham.
Since its inception, the company has made a number of scientific breakthroughs, including developing a revolutionary technique to grow cells in three dimensions, allowing them to grow as they would in living tissue.
This 3-D “scaffold” is set to become a vital tool in the cell biologist’s armoury, providing a far greater insight into how cells behave in the body and giving a truer reading of the effect of drugs on them.
The immediate market for Reinnervate’s proprietary 3-D cell culture technology is estimated to be worth more than £200m a year, with considerable potential for market expansion.
The firm has already received about £750,000-woth of private equity funding from various sources to help launch its products commercially, along with £500,000 of funding from the European Regional Development Fund.
Alan Clark, lead investor of the BiG syndicate, said: “BiG is always on the lookout for opportunities to support the growth and development of highly-innovative, local companies by providing equity investment and professional guidance.
“Reinnervate fits this specification and we are delighted to be able to provide critical financial support to an exciting young company that has real growth potential.”
Alex Buchan, of North Star, said: “Reiinervate’s technology platforms have enormous potential to transform the way cell biologists work and are relevant to the creation of realistic models for the testing of new drugs. The team has performed exceptionally well in bringing the products to the point of commercialisation and this investment will enable them to capitalise on this.”