Nurturing a healthy life sciences ecosystem

The North East has long been a furnace of innovation, invention running threadlike through its DNA.

And that ingenious spirit is no more apparent than across the life sciences sector, where nascent university spin-outs meld with more established market players to drive next- generation therapies.

Helping to power their progress is Northstar Ventures.

Through a series of substantial financial investments, the Newcastle-based firm is empowering an expanding network of businesses to reach crucial development milestones and deliver vital solutions to global challenges.

Those companies include Newcastle University spin-out Newcells Biotech, which is using biological modelling to improve drug discovery and reduce reliance on animal testing.

The investment firm’s portfolio also includes Nanovery, whose nanorobotic platform provides a simple but effective method to detect specific nucleic acid sequences at extremely low levels without the need for specialist equipment.

It applies this to improving how delivery of advanced RNA-based therapies is measured in target tissues to the ultimate benefit of patients with genetic diseases and cancer.

The company has raised three rounds of investment over the last three years, all of which Northstar has led.

Northstar Ventures’ portfolio additionally comprises fellow Newcastle University ventures NunaBio, which is a world leader in the manufacture of custom DNA sequences, and MarraBio, which is developing technology to produce bioactive protein alternatives economically at scale.

Both are breaking existing paradigms of their industries.

Add to the equation backing for LightOx, which has created a light-activated oral gel to target mouth cancer, and Northstar Ventures’ impact is even more profound.

And the organisation, says investment director Alex Buchan, is firmly focused on cultivating an ever more fertile field for company growth.

He says: “We have a very strong life sciences sector in the North East, particularly around areas such as synthetic biology, biological modelling and cancer therapeutics.

“Work around digital health continues to develop, and we have the Newcastle-based National Institute for Health Research Innovation Observatory too, which is horizon scanning the new drugs and devices coming to market.

“There is a lot going on, and the landscape is beginning to coalesce.

“But what it needs is continuous investment – and that is what we are providing.”

That commitment was emphasised in December, when Northstar Ventures backed Newcells Biotech in a £1.2 million capital raise.

Aimed at expanding its global client base, Newcells Biotech says the cash will drive an “ambitious commercial strategy” that will “further build its customer base and seek new partnerships with companies with complementary products to enhance its offer across key international markets”.

The funding round has also helped the firm, which operates from The Biosphere, on Newcastle’s Helix science and technology hub, appoint pharma sector veteran Dr Mark Carnegie-Brown as its board chair.

Alex says: “Companies such as Newcells Biotech are North East firms, but they have a global outlook.

“They are building on the world-class research taking place in the region’s universities and are increasingly working with customers internationally.

“And our backing is helping them to continue that.”

He adds: “We are trying to build an ecosystem in the region that makes a difference across the life sciences sector.

“To do that takes high-quality people and high- quality ideas.

“It also takes time and investment.

“The North East is a great place to do business, and we want to attract more people, more ideas and more companies to the region, to further boost its life sciences sector.

“And through our investments, we are helping make that happen.”

Northstar Ventures
For more information about Northstar Ventures, its different funds and how they could invest in your business’ growth or you could invest in those funds, visit the website – www.northstarventures.co.uk
LinkedIn: Northstar Ventures UK

Northstar Ventures is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.