A Newcastle University spinout producing synthetic DNA for biochemical research has announced it has raised £1.9m in seed funding to further its work.
NunaBio, which is based at the Newcastle Helix science and business park, has secured the funds from the North East Innovation Fund, Pioneer Group, Ascension Life Fund and Martlet Capital. The company was founded in April 2021 to develop a novel method of DNA synthesis which enables the speedy and cost-effective production of oligonucleotides – pieces of DNA that can bind to specific molecules – at scale.
NunaBio’s technology can be used in many areas of life sciences, including gene therapy, T cell engineering, diagnostics and targeted biomarker panels. Proceeds will be used to expand the company’s infrastructure to scale-up its existing offering, and to accelerate research and development.
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As part of the investment, NunaBio will also join Pioneer Group’s Launch Venture Building programme, where it will receive support from leaders in the field for starting up, scaling and raising investment, as well as commercialisation support for 12 months.
Joe Hedley, co-founder and CEO of NunaBio, said: “I am delighted to have the support of top life sciences investors which will enable us to further evolve our DNA synthesis technology, making our system one of the most innovative technologies in the market. Our investors share our mission of delivering accurate, efficient DNA synthesis to have a lasting impact on the world and so we are delighted they have chosen to invest in NunaBio. We are also excited to be joining Pioneer Group’s venture building programme and to work closely with its highly experienced life sciences team.”
Alex Buchan, investment director at Northstar Ventures, which manages the North East Innovation Fund, said: ‘We are pleased to support NunaBio, a spin out from Newcastle University, which is developing cutting edge DNA synthesis technology. We have been impressed by the company’s recent progress. We strongly believe NunaBio has the potential to become a major provider of DNA at scale and form an integral part of the rapidly growing SynBio cluster in the North East.”
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Glenn Crocker, head of ventures at Pioneer Group, said: “NunaBio is pioneering a new era of DNA synthesis that has the potential to revolutionise the synthetic biology industry and fill a gap across key life sciences markets. We are impressed by the technology Joe and his team have developed so rapidly and are proud to be part of this financing round. We also welcome them to our life sciences ecosystem and look forward to helping them thrive in every step of their innovation journey.”
Alisa Molotova, investment manager at Martlet Capital, said: “We are thrilled to support NunaBio’s novel and disruptive DNA synthesis technology and the talented team behind it. With a dedicated team pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in DNA synthesis, we can help unlock the potential of synthetic biology and drive innovation across a wide range of industries. We are excited to be part of something truly transformative.”
Chris Wheatcroft, investment partner at the Ascension Life Fund, said: “We were immediately impressed with Joe and the NunaBio team and had strong conviction from the outset. We believe that NunaBio’s technology has the potential to disrupt the synthetic DNA market. They have the right team and investors to take advantage of a large and growing market opportunity.”
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