Biotech outfit Synpromics gets £2.1m cash injection

AN EDINBURGH biotech firm that is helping to find cures for haemophilia and hereditary blindness has secured a £2.1 million investment to develop its gene therapies.

Calculuss Alexandra Lindsay praised highly capable team

Synpromics, based at the city’s BioQuarter life sciences incubator, received the cash injection from private equity firm Calculus Capital, which earlier this year led a £2.5m fundraising for fellow Edinburgh company Money Dashboard.

Alexandra Lindsay, investment director at Calculus, said: “We are very excited to invest in Synpromics. The highly capable team, comprehensive intellectual property and leading technology, together with Calculus Capital’s support, will ensure Synpromics is primed to take full advantage of the significant market opportunity available.”

The biotech outfit was founded in 2011 to commercialise technology developed by Michael Roberts in the emerging field of synthetic biology, which gives researchers the ability to create man-made DNA sequences.

Chief executive David Venables said: “We now plan to focus our growth efforts in particular areas, leveraging the great results from our projects.”