bit.bio Raises $30 Million Led by M&G Investments to Focus on Tools for the Research, Drug Discovery and Cell Therapy Markets

Jonathan Milner Appointed Interim CEO; Mark Kotter Assumes Vice Chairman Role as Company Expands Board with Distinguished Biotech Leaders

CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom, Dec. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- bit.bio, the global leader in cell programming technology, today announced the successful closing of a $30 million financing round led by M&G Investments, a leading international savings and investment company. Existing investors, including ARCH Venture Partners, BlueYard Capital, Milky Way, Puhua Capital, and Tencent, participated in the round.

M&G's investment is through M&G's Crossover strategy, a global initiative led by M&G's public equity investment division to provide growth equity to high-quality, fast-growing private companies, enabling their transition from the private market to the public world. The continued backing of all of bit.bio's previous lead investors underscores strong confidence in the company's potential and strategic direction. This funding will accelerate bit.bio's transformation into the leading provider of human cells for research and drug discovery, furthering its mission to revolutionise tools for biomedical innovation.

As part of this renewed focus, bit.bio also strengthens its executive leadership team. Starting on 6 January 2025, Dr Jonathan Milner will take on the role of Interim CEO and join the Board of Directors. Dr Milner is a prominent entrepreneur and a key player in the UK life sciences and biotechnology sector. He established Abcam, a leading provider of protein research tools, and scaled it into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, which was acquired in 2023 for nearly $6 billion. He also initiated the Milner Therapeutics Institute, designed to connect academia with industry, accelerating drug discovery and promoting partnerships between researchers and biopharmaceutical companies.

Dr Mark Kotter, bit.bio founder and inventor of the revolutionary opti-ox™ cell programming technology, will take on the role of Vice Chairman of the Board, continuing to help shape the company's strategic vision. "I'm delighted to welcome M&G, our first UK investor and a titan in life science investment, to join us in our mission to revolutionise drug discovery tools and transform human health," said Kotter. "Since founding bit.bio in 2016, it has been a privilege to lead the company through remarkable growth. Jonathan was not only the first investor in bit.bio but also my first business mentor. As part of our next phase of growth, I will work closely with Jonathan and the team to help shape bit.bio's future and establish bit.bio as the leading provider of human cells for research, drug discovery and the preferred partner for iPSC-derived cell therapies."

"I'm honoured to join bit.bio's Board of Directors and lead the company through this transformative phase," said Dr Jonathan Milner, incoming interim CEO at bit.bio. "Mark has built an incredible foundation for growth, and I am committed to building on this success. Over the coming months, Mark and I will collaborate to inspire bit.bio's exceptional team, advance its groundbreaking technology, and drive its mission forward."

In addition to Dr Milner joining the Board of Directors, bit.bio also announced the appointment of two distinguished biotechnology leaders to its Board, further strengthening the company's leadership team:

• Cornel Chiriac is an investment director with M&G Crossover Fund, focusing on late-stage investments in technology and science globally. He founded and invested for 10 years with 2050 Capital specialising in biotech and deep technology ventures. Mr Chiriac also leads the Chicago Booth Angels Network in London and has extensive experience in strategy consulting at LEK Consulting.
  
  
• Dr Richard D. Klausner is the founder and chief scientist at Altos Labs and a visionary leader in biotechnology. He has co-founded several leading biotechnology companies, including GRAIL, Juno Therapeutics, and Lyell Immunopharma, and has held senior executive positions at Illumina and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As former director of the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), Dr Klausner was instrumental in advancing CAR-T therapy and shaping the nation's cancer research agenda.

"bit.bio is one of the rising stars in the European biotechnology sector, with the potential to make a profound global impact on human health," said Cornel Chiriac, Investment Director at M&G Crossover Fund. "We at M&G are thrilled to play our part in advancing Great Britain's scientific innovation and to support bit.bio's journey to become the world's leading provider of human cells."

"A consistent and scalable source of human cells is critical to overcoming long-standing challenges in translating scientific discoveries into effective treatments and making cell therapies widely available," said Dr Richard Klausner, Board Member, bit.bio. "I look forward to contributing to this important mission alongside such an exceptional team."

Dr Hermann Hauser, co-founder of Acorn Computers (creator of the ARM processor), early investor in Solexa (now part of Illumina), early investor in Abcam, co-founder of Amadeus Capital and Chairman at bit.bio, said, "These new board appointments bring unparalleled expertise across biotechnology, investment, research tools, and therapeutic innovation. We are delighted to welcome M&G to the bit.bio family. The continued support from our existing investors reaffirms their confidence in our team, technology, and mission."

About bit.bio

bit.bio designs and manufactures human cells to advance drug discovery and biomedical research enabling transformative treatments in human health. Using our proprietary deterministic cell programming technology, opti-ox, we convert induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into any desired human cell type in a single step. Our AI powered discovery platform identifies unique combinations of transcription factors that can program any desired cell type with exceptional purity and consistency at scale, with products ready to ship globally. To date, bit.bio's ioCells portfolio features 45 products, including ioWild Type Cells, ioDisease Model Cells, and ioCRISPR-Ready Cells.

Since spinning out from the University of Cambridge and launching in 2016, we have raised approximately $225m from leading investors, including Arch Venture, Blueyard Capital, Charles River Laboratories, Foresite Capital, M&G, Milky Way, National Resilience, and Tencent.

For more information, please visit: www.bit.bio
For information on bit.bio's trademarks, visit www.bit.bio/trademarks
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bitbioltd/about/

About M&G Investments 

M&G Investments is part of M&G plc, a savings and investment business which was formed in 2017 through the merger of Prudential plc's UK and Europe savings and insurance operation and M&G, its wholly owned international investment manager. M&G plc listed as an independent company on the London Stock Exchange in October 2019 and has £346.1 billion of assets under management (as at 30 June 2024). M&G plc has customers in the UK, Europe, the Americas and Asia, including individual savers and investors, life insurance policy holders and pension scheme members.

For nearly nine decades M&G Investments has been helping its customers to prosper by putting investments to work, which in turn creates jobs, homes and vital infrastructure in the real economy. Its investment solutions span equities, fixed income, multi asset, cash, private debt, infrastructure and real estate.

M&G recognises the importance of responsible investing and is a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) and is a member of the Climate Bonds Initiative Partners Programme.

M&G plc has committed to achieve net zero carbon emissions on its total book of assets under management and administration by 2050 and committed to reduce operational carbon emissions as a corporate entity to net zero by 2030. For more information, please visit: https://global.mandg.com/

Media Contact:
Chris Hempel
Spark Public Relations
chris.hempel@sparkpr.com