Metrion Biosciences Restricted (Metrion), the specialist ion channel CRO and drug discovery firm, at present introduced that it has secured £3.5m in new fairness financing, together with £2.5m from lead investor Maven Capital Companions (Maven) and £1 million from current investor, Gresham Home Ventures (Gresham Home).

The funding can be used to additional broaden Metrion’s laboratories in Cambridge, UK, spend money on specialist tools and improve the Firm’s international advertising and marketing actions.

Metrion Biosciences additionally introduced a sequence of board adjustments. Dr David Milroy has joined the board as Maven’s investor director and Steve Carle has changed Maya Ward as Gresham’s board consultant. On the identical time, Dr Marc Rogers, Dr Barry Kenny and Mark Keogh have retired as non-executive administrators of the Firm.

Dr Keith McCullagh, Chairman, Metrion Biosciences, mentioned: “I’m happy to welcome Maven as a brand new investor in Metrion.  Andy Southan, Metrion’s CEO, and I are delighted that David Milroy, an skilled scientist and enterprise investor, will be part of the board as Maven’s investor director.  We additionally welcome Steve Carle to the board and thank Maya Ward for her help of the spherical on behalf of Gresham.  Lastly, we wish to thank Barry Kenny, Mark Keogh and Marc Rogers as they step down from the board, for his or her skilled recommendation and unwavering dedication to the Firm over a few years.”

Maven is a number one non-public fairness home targeted on the availability of versatile funding for top progress companies, and is without doubt one of the most energetic SME traders within the UK.

David Milroy, Accomplice at Maven, mentioned: “The Metrion crew are extremely regarded within the drug discovery trade and are ideally positioned to capitalise on an growing understanding of ion channel biology and the ensuing heightened curiosity in therapeutics concentrating on these channels. Maven has a powerful monitor file of backing life science companies comparable to BioAscent, one other CRO, which has carried out very strongly for the reason that Maven VCTs invested in 2018. I’m very a lot trying ahead to working with Andy and his crew and to drawing on Maven’s expertise with related life science companies and plenty of different SMEs to assist scale this thrilling enterprise.”

Gresham Home is a progress fairness investor specialising in software program and digitally pushed companies within the healthcare, client and companies sectors.

Maya Ward, funding director at Gresham Home Ventures, mentioned: “Because the timelines, value and complexity of taking a drug to market proceed to rise, we see growing demand for skilled, specialist suppliers comparable to Metrion to help the biopharma trade in navigating these challenges. The administration crew’s deep perception into ion channels and specialist electrophysiology tools ensures Metrion is nicely positioned to reap the benefits of the sizeable market alternative. We sit up for supporting the enterprise in its subsequent section of progress.”