Our Portfolio:
The epicentre of deep science
Life Sciences
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Revolutionary mitochondrial-protective therapeutics.
Currently, no neurodegenerative disease is curable. The WHO predicts that neurodegenerative diseases affecting motor function will become the second-most prevalent cause of death in the next 20 years. There is overwhelming evidence of impaired mitochondrial function as a causative factor in many of these diseases.
MitoRx is developing a pipeline of first-in-class, first-in-target small molecules for diseases involving mitochondrial dysfunction, with first indications in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, CBS-deficiency and Huntington’s disease. Their proprietary technology targets an endogenous mechanism which mediates sulfide signalling, restoring adaptive metabolism of mitochondria, with curative potential across a range of neurodegenerative and rare diseases.
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Biologicals without refrigeration.
Biopharmaceuticals, such as vaccines, antibodies and proteins, rely on cold chain transport and storage, which account for up to 80% of the cost of vaccination programmes. Failures in the cold chain result in biopharmaceutical spoilage, where the WHO estimated that nearly 50% of vaccines are wasted annually.
EnsiliTech’s proprietry technology encases biopharmaceuticals in a protective coating, stabilising them at room temperature, avoiding the need for the cold chain and preventing the wastage of life-saving vaccines and medicines.
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Harnessing the body's natural cell mechanisms to silence specific genes.
Gene silencing therapies offer a revolutionary solution to tackle genetic diseases by precisely targeting faulty mRNA, effectively curbing the production of problematic proteins that lead to conditions like familial hypercholesterolemia, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Such therapies harness small interfacing RNAs (siRNAs) to target and "silence" these faulty mRNAs.
Argonaute RNA is developing a pipeline of siRNA-based assets across a range of therapeutic areas, with their lead asset targeting the treatment of diseases within the cardiometabolic space. Argonaute RNA have developed a novel method of stabilising siRNAs that allows for the safe and effective silencing of specific gene expression.
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Pan-coronavirus antivirals to stop infection in its tracks.
The COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) global pandemic highlighted the severity and highly contagious nature of coronavirus variants, of which seven are known to infect humans, carrying risk of pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, multi-organ failure and death. Today, coronavirus variants continue to spread with no preventative measures in place, affecting the most vulnerable in society.
Halo Therapeutics have developed the first pan-coronavirus antivirals. This ground-breaking discovery has shown that exposing the SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus) virus to a free fatty acid locks the virus’s spike protein into a closed, non-infective form, stopping it in its tracks.
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Utilising miRNA expression profiles and bioinformatics for early cancer detection
Xgenera have a very promising multi cancer early detection test (MCED) called miONCO that was developed from analysing relative expression profiles of microRNAs in 20,000 patient samples. Xgenera’s two step test would detect cancer using a computational algorithm to identify microRNA profiles extracted from patient blood samples, and can predict the site of origin of the cancer. As a screening test this could improve patient lives significantly.
Xgenera's miONCO test satisfies the high level requirements for an MCED - it can diagnose multiple cancers (12) and based on miRNA markers it can detect signals earlier in the cancer stages. The test will be developed into a qPCR format and can be administered via blood draws. This format is 'easy to adopt' by the NHS as it makes use of standard lab equipment in contrast to other approaches reliant on next-generation sequencing.
Advanced Materials
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A new generation of knee implants with additive manufacturing.
Osteoarthritis is the most common degenerative joint disease, affecting over 25% of the population. First choice treatment options for joint replacement include lifestyle changes or surgery, however surgical intervention, such as knee replacements, are not advisable for young patients due to high revision rates and bone wear.
OSSTEC have developed knee implants with innovative lattice technology to closely mimic native bone properties for optimised implant fixation and durable bone foundation. This step-change in the state-of-the-art is critical to enable patients to maintain bone quality and continue living healthy, active lives.
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Low cost, no-compromise sustainable electric vehicles.
Widespread adoption of solid state battery technologies are limited by their industrial efficiency, high energy consumption and overall performance. Traditional wet coating approaches of battery electrodes use harmful solvents which require removal, posing a barrier in rapid and economical scale up.
Anaphite have developed dry coated electrode materials with the performance of wet coated solutions, at lower energy and without the requirement for solvents. Anaphite’s technology unlocks the potential for wider adoption of dry coating technologies in the automotive industry, decreasing cost and lowering energy consumption in electric vehicle manufacturing.
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A manufacturing platform for nature's difficult-to-make materials.
Nature has found solutions to some of the most difficult problems in materials engineering, showcasing desirable features such as strong adhesion, stability and stiffness. Materials with such properties have been traditionally difficult to make due to the complex nature of synthesizing amino acid chains.
Zentraxa have developed a platform technology for biopolymer synthesis, combining the desired functionalities of several naturally occurring proteins to finely tune the material end properties for applications in advanced wound care, optical & transparent adhesives, ostomy bag adhesives and personal care ingredients.
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Low carbon cooling for buildings and greenhouses.
Global temperatures are rising and many parts of the world are seeing their hottest temperatures on record. There is an ever-increasing need to find sustainable solutions to regulate temperatures in indoor settings, without relying on energy intensive air cooling systems.
Albotherm has developed a reversible coating for glass surfaces, using polymer chemistry that can switch between opaque and transparent, providing shade in high temperatures and allowing sunlight through at lower temperatures. Albotherm’s proprietary technology has significant implications as a net zero approach for temperature regulation, replacing energy intensive cooling systems, where their initial focus on commercial greenhouses has shown a 34% increase in crop yield compared to other approaches.
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Flexible digital X-ray films for the aerospace industry.
Silveray are developing digital X-ray films that will enable increased productivity, as images can be captured and viewed without an image development step, which is the current workflow for traditional X-ray film. However, digital X-ray solutions are often large and have limited flexibility, restricting the ability to capture high-quality X-ray images in tight spaces or on curved surfaces. Silveray’s material allows them to use direct conversion of the incident X-ray photons, in contrast to other imaging techniques that use indirect conversion. Consequently, Silveray’s detectors can be thinner and more flexible than other X-ray solutions on the market, making them more suitable to fit into tight spaces and to image curved surfaces, such as for wrapping around pipes to check for corrosion and weld defects
Deep Tech, Robotics & Automation
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A needle free wearable for continuous glucose monitoring.
Diabetes is a global health crisis currently afflicting hundreds of millions of people and is projected to rise to 783 million by 2045. Commercial sugar monitors are unpleasant, expensive, inconvenient, and cause poor disease management, exposing patients to an increased risk of developing life-threatening co-morbidities and reducing overall life expectancy.
Transdermal Diagnostics have developed a wearable smart-patch for non-invasive and real-time monitoring of health biomarkers, including glucose. The technology uses miniaturised biosensors to extract, detect and quantify glucose levels without puncturing the skin, thereby avoiding any need for a blood sample or the use of needles to revolutionise diabetes management and care.
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Precision harvesting to boost agriculture efficiency.
Current agricultural practises are limited by availability of labour. Automated solutions have been developed to tackle this, however have previously been held back by inability to distinguish between ripe and immature crops, reducing efficiency and crop yields.
Muddy Machines’ fully electric smart robots enable selective harvesting to optimise growing and boost crop yields. Using cutting-edge AI and sensor technologies to measure crops, the robots autonomously drive through fields harvesting for up to 16 hours per day, either alone or as a heard to circumvent labour supply shortages and boost productivity.
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Delivering longer, better quality of lives for brain tumour patients.
Glioblastoma is one of most complex, deadly and treatment-resistant cancers with an estimated 5-year survival rate of only 6.9%. Electric field therapy is a new modality in treating cancer, using electric fields to interrupt cancer cell growth cycles and tumour growth, however low patient adherence and impact on quality of life limit the full potential of this technology.
QV Bioelectronics have developed an innovative implanted device to deliver electric field therapy directly to the tumour resection margins, where 90% of glioblastoma recurrence takes place. By delivering through an implant, the device will aim to deliver longer, better quality lives for glioblastoma patients by providing continuous therapy while minimising its effect on patient quality of life.
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Unlocking the power of waste water.
Globally, 80% of wastewater is discharged untreated into the environment, the equivalent to 2.5 million Olympic pools of wastewater polluting the planet every day. The food and drink manufacturing sector is a major producer of waste water and organic waste however there are limited versatile waste management solutions that are easy to operate and have low capital outlay.
WASE have developed modular electro-methanogenic reactors to treat waste water whilst generating renewable energy. Compared to anaerobic digestion, WASE produces 30% more methane, is 3-10x faster and 50-70% smaller, designed to fit seamlessly with existing treatment systems to support food and drink manufacturers to recover value from their waste and cut energy costs.
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Generative AI approach to translate English to British Sign Language.
Signapse are the first company to commercialise the use of computer vision and natural language processing techniques for text to sign language translations for Transport, Video Translation, and Websites. Their generated videos are photorealistic, a game-changer for the Deaf Community who routinely reject graphical avatars that are employed by other startups.
With societal and legislative drive for companies to become more inclusive, there is a need to provide sign language translation services at scale. Currently, most companies use human translators to perform sign language translation. However, these are expensive and there is not enough supply. Signapse’s technology offers a solution to this problem and will enable companies to be deaf accessible at scale.
They have delivered AI-powered sign language translation announcements at London Waterloo and Euston stations, NYC Staten Island Ferry, and Cincinnati Airport. They have an extensive sales pipeline with numerous rail companies, airports, hospitals and media partners looking to translate their video libraries.
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Building the infrastructure for chemistry by standardising and automating how research and manufacture are carried out.
Chemistry is one of the world's core industries, affecting 96% of all manufactured goods. In the UK, it is the second largest industry by value and yet it is beset with fundamental issues. Modern chemists develop the drugs and materials of the future using a painstakingly manual and repetitive process. It is estimated that about 80% of a chemist's time is spent on low skill, repetitive manual labour. Shortages in skilled labour and its ineffective use directly affect big industries such as Pharma, Biotech, Materials, Food, Cosmetics and even Academia on a daily basis.
CheMastery aims to revolutionise the way chemical research and manufacture are done by vastly increasing the efficiency of small to medium scale chemical production. This is achieved by solving the most pressing chemistry issues; repetitive manual labour, cost/time efficiency, irreproducibility and scale up issues. These affect 90% of all chemistry globally and waste up to 80% of project resources.
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Semiconductor technology for neural implants
Founded as a spinout from Imperial College London, MintNeuro leads in advanced semiconductor technology for neural implants. MintNeuro's proprietary chip technology tackles core challenges in neurology with scalable, low-power solutions that enhance the efficiency and accessibility of implantable devices. Strategic partnerships with leading institutions and medical device companies place MintNeuro at the forefront of adaptable systems addressing a range of neurological conditions, including epilepsy, movement disorders, and cognitive dysfunctions.
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Lowering the barrier to obtaining measurements of biological interactions
Exciting Instruments, a spin-out from the University of Sheffield, is revolutionizing single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy for biophysics, life sciences, drug discovery, and diagnostics. Co-founded by Dr. Tim Craggs and Robert Bell, the company brings together world-class expertise in single-molecule FRET and cutting-edge software solutions. Their flagship product, EI-FLEX, is a compact, benchtop system designed for both seasoned scientists and new users, making advanced research tools more accessible. By integrating real-time data visualization and cloud connectivity, Exciting Instruments is helping researchers push the boundaries of scientific discovery.
