LifeArc Ventures 2024: new investments, targeted follow-ons and substantive portfolio progress

LONDON, Jan. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- LifeArc Ventures, which invests in innovative early-stage life science companies as part of LifeArc, today announced substantial progress in 2024, with three new investments, several follow-on investments, and scientific advances by a number of its portfolio companies.

Clare Terlouw, Head of LifeArc Ventures, said: "This has been a busy and productive year as LifeArc Ventures continued to generate deal flow, creatively deploy capital and execute a bold growth strategy. Our portfolio now includes 17 companies focused on scientific innovation, each with the potential to significantly improve outcomes for patients. We added three new companies to the portfolio demonstrating our capacity to identify, fund and support highly promising innovation and to work in partnership with other life sciences venture investors. 

"We continue to see strong opportunities to invest in life sciences companies in the UK and globally, and we look forward to helping our companies grow, and continuing to invest in new companies in 2025."

Expanding the portfolio in therapeutics and medtech

LifeArc Ventures' portfolio continued to grow in 2024, including investing in Fluid Biomed Inc's oversubscribed Series A and two stealth therapeutics investments.

Fluid Biomed Inc. is a clinical-stage medical device company based in Canada advancing the first hybrid polymer-metal stent to treat brain aneurysms. LifeArc Ventures invested in Fluid Biomed's US$27 million Series A equity financing which closed in December alongside Amplitude Ventures, IAG Capital Partners, ShangBay Capital, METIS Innovative and an undisclosed industry leader.

LifeArc Ventures also invested in the financing of two stealth companies – a UK-US company leveraging AI for target discovery and drug development, with an initial emphasis on immunology and fibrosis; and a US-based company developing therapeutics for autoimmune disorders.

Cytospire Therapeutics emerged from stealth in 2024. LifeArc Ventures invested in the UK-based company, working alongside Abingworth & 4BIO Capital, in 2023. Cytospire is developing an innovative portfolio of differentiated multispecific engager antibodies to safely target and stimulate the activity of the innate and adaptive immune system.

Targeted follow-on investments

LifeArc Ventures participated in multiple follow-on investment rounds including Ikarovec's successful seed funding round and Affect Therapeutics. Ikarovec is advancing the novel gene therapy programme IKC159V towards clinical trials in geographic atrophy (GA), a cause of sight loss in millions of people which is often a precursor to wet age-related macular degeneration. Affect Therapeutics has developed a digital-first substance use disorder treatment platform. Their scientifically proven programmes support the full recovery journey through care counselling and biological testing with contingency management, providing financial incentives for harm reduction behaviours.

Portfolio progress led by AviadoBio & RQ Bio

AviadoBio announced an exclusive option and license agreement with Astellas for its gene therapy AVB-101 targeting frontotemporal dementia and other indications. AviadoBio is eligible to receive up to $2.18 billion in license fees and milestone payments, plus royalties, if Astellas exercises its option. A Phase 1/2 clinical trial of AVB-101 is underway in the U.S. and Europe.

Kavigale (sipavibart; AZD3152), a monoclonal antibody discovered by RQ Biotechnology and licensed to AstraZeneca in 2022, received a positive CHMP opinion for prevention of COVID 19 in immunocompromised individuals. The advance from discovery to a positive CHMP opinion in three years illustrates the speed with which long-acting monoclonal antibodies can be developed as a drug class to protect vulnerable populations against serious viral diseases. The decision further validates RQ Bio's antiviral drug discovery expertise and model for early partnership with the pharmaceutical industry.

Closed Loop Medicine announced a strategic partnership with Teva UK to investigate opportunities to leverage Closed Loop's proprietary software as a medical device (SaMD) technology platform in the creation of personalised medicines. The goal is to improve drug efficacy and outcomes for patients with specific chronic disorders by combining dose-optimised drug therapy with digital care.

Maxion Therapeutics appointed Dr Arndt Schottelius (previously at Affimed, Kymab, MorphoSys and Genentech) as its CEO with the company aiming to develop antibody-based drugs for previously untreatable ion channel- and GPCR-driven diseases.

In the US, Ozlo Sleep, a science-driven sleep and audio technology company, launched Ozlo Sleepbuds®, revolutionary earbuds designed specifically for sleep. Ozlo Sleepbuds have been named a 2025 CES Innovation Awards Honoree.

Earlier this month, Pheno Therapeutics announced receipt of clinical trial authorisation in the UK for its lead multiple sclerosis (MS) therapeutic candidate PTD802, the first ever clinical trial involving a GPR17 (G protein-coupled receptor 17) antagonist.  PTD802 is a novel small molecule therapeutic designed to promote remyelination. Developed under an exclusive worldwide licence agreement with UCB, the programme is targeted toward treatment of neurological diseases with high unmet medical need, with an initial focus on MS.

Last week, our portfolio company Surgery Hero, a UK-based innovator in prehabilitation digital health, announced its acquisition by Sword Health, a global leader in AI-powered care based in the US. The acquisition marks a new chapter for Surgery Hero, with its expertise in surgery prehabilitation combining with Sword's innovative AI Care platform to bring better health outcomes to patients in the UK and internationally.

Contacts:

LifeArc
Clare Terlouw
ventures@lifearc.org 

Mo PR Advisory
Mo Noonan / Jonathan Birt
Tel: +44 (0) 7876 444977 / 07860 361746

Notes to Editors:

About LifeArc
LifeArc is a self-funded medical research charity with more than 25 years of translating early science into health care treatment including a diagnostic for antibiotic resistance and five licensed medicines. Our model is built on collaboration, and through our LifeArc Ventures team, we invest in Seed and Series A stage companies with significant follow-on investment reserved for successful portfolio companies. Our ventures approach focuses on investing in novel translational science and technology with a dual goal of generating financial returns to the charity and positive impact for patients.

Find out more on www.lifearc.org / https://lifearcventures.com or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter (@LifeArcVentures).