Discovery Park Ventures (DPV) has expanded its early-stage life science fund from £1 million to £3 million, to capitalise on exciting investment opportunities and support its existing portfolio. The fund’s investors have committed an additional £2 million, which will also enable the fund to take larger stakes in companies that strongly align with its strategic objectives.

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Increase in funding

DPV was formed in 2022 by Discovery Park to invest in promising, fast-growing life-science companies with close links to the innovation ecosystem at Discovery Park. The first £1 million tranche of DPV is now fully invested. Recent investments include Optceutics, an ophthalmology drug development company that uses its pharmacokinetic model, PK-Eye, to accelerate the development of ocular formulations. Two others will be announced shortly. DPV is also invested in Vitarka Therapeutics, VisusNano, Booby Biome, Neobe Therapeutics, Ignota Labs and Oxford Medical Products.

The first transactions from the second tranche of the fund have been follow-on funding rounds into two existing portfolio companies, one of which is Ignota Labs (focused on preventing safety failures in drug discovery with Explainable AI). New investments are also being reviewed. Discovery Park Ventures will be presenting some of its portfolio at Giant Health’s ‘Healthcare Investment Show’ in partnership with Discovery Park in London on 5^th December 2023.  

Mayer Schreiber, chair of Discovery Park Ventures and CEO of Discovery Park, said: “Our portfolio of investments is making strong progress, and we are delighted by the support our investors have shown us with this second tranche of funding. It is the first step in Discovery Park Ventures’ planned expansion, and we look forward to working with regional investment groups and other funds as we grow."

DPV has plans to further expand the fund up to £25 million in the next three years with a focus on companies developing novel and disruptive technologies that have strong collaborative relationships with Discovery Park.