NI’s first cell therapy company secures another six figure deal

VascVersa, an award winning regenerative medicine spin out from Queen’s University in Belfast, has completed its second seed funding round, raising over £500,000.

The investment was participated in by Co-Fund NI managed by Clarendon Fund Managers, QUBIS, the commercialisation arm of Queen’s University Belfast, the Innovation Investment Fund and angel investors from the Halo & Business Angel Network (HBAN).

The funding complements VascVersa’s successful recent Innovate UK Biomedical Catalyst grant for a £800,000 project.

The Belfast-based company is developing a cell therapy product as a new treatment for vascular regeneration.

The latest investment will allow the company to accelerate the development of its ground-breaking Angicyte technology. Angicyte promotes healing by making new blood vessels leading to improved blood supply.

Cell therapies are at the forefront of medicine and are recognised as a revolutionary new way to treat diseases.

The company is coordinating research being undertaken in world leading research centres in Belfast, London and Edinburgh to develop its new cell therapy.

The first target is “chronic non healing wounds” which includes diabetic foot ulcers, but the technology will also be investigated for other vascular diseases.

Christina O’Neill, chief executive officer of VascVersa said: “This investment is a significant milestone for VascVersa. It will enable us to accelerate development of our first product for diabetic foot ulcers and also develop our technology for other vascular diseases. I’m extremely grateful to all our funders for their invaluable support throughout VascVersa’s development.”

Highlighting the invaluable support, Aidan Courtney, chairman of VascVersa, explained: “We have received tremendous support from our investors and Queen’s University Belfast which will allow the company to expand its Belfast research facilities and develop new products based on its ground-breaking technology.

“The technology, which builds on 20 years’ research at Queen’s, has the potential to tackle a wide range of conditions for which clinical care is currently both expensive and inadequate. VascVersa has the ambition to develop a new generation of treatments and deliver a profound improvement to the lives of many individuals suffering chronic ill health.”

Stuart Gaffikin, investment manager at Clarendon Fund Managers, added: “Co-Fund NI is delighted to continue to support VascVersa and its team as it progresses the development of its regenerative cell therapy product, Angicyte, for use as a treatment for diabetic foot ulcers as well as other vascular diseases. We look forward to playing our role in helping the company through its early-stage development and hope to see it grow successfully in the near future.”

David Moore, investment manager at QUBIS, commented: “QUBIS are delighted to support the VascVersa team to build on the Biomedical Catalyst award with this funding round.”

Concluding, Oisin Lappin from the Innovation Investment Fund, said: “The visionary technology Christina and the VascVersa team are bringing to market will have a lasting impact on patient’s lives. This funding round alongside the Innovate UK support will help support them in this journey.”

VascVersa is led by an experienced scientific and leadership team with expertise in vascular and stem cell biology.

The company is currently working on an Innovate UK funded project collaborating with the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and Queen’s University Belfast to develop its Angicyte therapy.

The start-up was formed after its team participated in ICURE, a UK government-run programme that seeks out university health research that has potential for commercialisation. It previously received funding from Innovate UK.