Venture firm Epidarex Capital, based in Edinburgh, has reached a first close of more than $145 million to focus on company creation and early-stage investments across the UK and the US.
The new fund, Epidarex Capital IV LP, will focus on breakthrough academic and translational research for the creation of therapeutics and medical device companies. It is expected to invest in up to 15 companies.
The first close of Epidarex Capital IV LP is backed by a mix of new and existing institutional investors, including the British Business Bank, the Scottish National Investment Bank and Strathclyde Pension Fund, alongside international family offices and corporates.
Epidarex focuses on creating healthcare companies targeting significant unmet medical needs, particularly in areas such as oncology, cardiometabolic disease, autoimmunity and neurology.
“We believe that the next three years represent a highly attractive window for investing in a new wave of biotech innovation,” stated Sinclair Dunlop, managing partner
Epidarex’s portfolio includes Apellis Pharmaceuticals, a Massachusetts-based biotech, which last year received EMA and FDA approval for pegcetacoplan (branded as Aspaveli in Europe and as Empaveli in the US) for the treatment of C3G and primary IC-MPGN, two rare kidney diseases with a high risk of kidney failure.
Other companies backed by Epidarex are UK-based Enterprise Therapeutics in Brighton and Kynos Therapeutics in Edinburgh, as well as US companies Harpoon Medical in Maryland and Nodthera in Massachusetts.
The managing director and co-head of funds at the British Business Bank, Christine Hockley, said: “The UK has a very strong science and research base, so what is needed is investors who specialise in nurturing and scaling those ideas, creating new, IP-rich companies.”
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