Newcastle University spinout NunaBio has secured £6.5m in funding to scale-up its proprietary DNA platform.
The funding will allow Nunabio to continue its advances in a completely new approach to DNA manufacturing. And in doing so they will address a critical bottleneck in biotech by producing high‑quality synthetic DNA rapidly and at scale, enabling faster development of vaccines, gene therapies, diagnostics and other life‑changing technologies.
The investment was led by Northstar Ventures which deployed capital from the North East Innovation Fund, the North East Spinout Inspire Fund and the Northstar EIS Growth Fund. All support the commercialisation of high-impact technologies emerging from the region.
The £22.5m North East Spinout Inspire Fund is backed by the universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside, as well as The North East Combined Authority (via the North East Fund). The fund supports commercialisation of the research and innovation emerging from the North East’s five universities.
Additional participation came from a group of UK and US investors, including Maven Capital Partners (via the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II), HIT Investments (US), and a syndicate of North East angel investors, alongside continued support from existing backers.
Joe Hedley, CEO and Co-Founder of NunaBio:
“This investment marks an important step in scaling a fundamentally new approach to DNA manufacturing. Our focus is on enabling DNA that others cannot produce and translating that capability into a robust, industrial platform.
“Our long-term vision is a globally deployable network of DNA micro-foundries – compact, automated production units applying semiconductor-style manufacturing principles to biology. By standardising and modularising production, we can deliver scalable, high-performance DNA manufacturing without the constraints of traditional approaches.”
Alex Buchan, Investment Director at Northstar Ventures:
“NunaBio is developing a highly differentiated approach to DNA manufacturing with significant potential across a range of high-growth applications. We identified Nunabio’s potential to transform industry economics from early on. We are pleased to support the company as it scales its technology and commercial reach.”
Northern Accelerator Support
Northern Accelerator has previously supported NunaBio through its Growth Support Funding. This initial funding has helped the company develop a next-generation enzymatic DNA manufacturing platform. Our growth support funding offered grants to help North East spinouts scale up and increase turnover or headcount.
NunaBio Addresses Unmet Challenges
NunaBio has made great strides in its technical and commercial progress over the past 12 months. The company has established early partnerships and delivering DNA products that address previously unmet manufacturing challenges. A growing intellectual property portfolio and increasing demand for high-complexity DNA formats supports this process. Their cell-free system enables the synthesis of highly complex DNA, unlocking new capabilities across mRNA therapeutics, advanced biologics, synthetic biology, and emerging applications such as DNA data storage.
Image courtesy of Steve Evans
