All-female angel investment group claims Scottish first following Nasdaq biotech flotation

An angel investment group has claimed a Scottish first following this week’s listing of Motherwell-headquartered TC Biopharm on New York’s Nasdaq exchange.

Investing Women Angels (IWA) said it had become the first Scottish angel group to achieve a Nasdaq exit following the successful market listing.

TC Biopharm is a clinical stage biotechnology company developing cell therapies in the fight against cancer and viral indications.

The company, which floated with a valuation of $119.25 million (£87.9m) and raised an additional $17.5m from the initial public offering (IPO), was co-founded by its chief operating officer Angela Scott and Michael Leek, who now serves as executive chairman.

Jackie Waring of Investing Women Angels (IWA).

Following initial on-site meetings with IWA founder Jackie Waring and support from its sister organisation AccelerateHER, the all-female IWA became the only angel group to invest in TC Biopharm in 2015 in a £1.2m round, alongside Scottish Enterprise co-investment.

IWA members were also active in several follow-on investment rounds which supported the company’s journey to becoming a publicly listed entity.

Based on TC Biopharm’s market valuation at flotation, IWA’s early investors will generate nearly eight times return on their initial investment.

Waring, who was among those to back the company in 2015, said: “We are so delighted for Angela, Mike and the entire team at TC Biopharm, now the only Scottish life sciences company listed on Nasdaq. We believed in this world-class team from day one and knew they could take this company to the highest level.

“The flotation has generated additional investment into the business, which will help finance further clinical trials aimed at combating cancer and other viral infections including Covid-19.

“We are particularly proud of what TC Biopharm has achieved and the phenomenal work it is doing in the fight against cancer.”

IWA managing director Evelyn Simpson added: “TC Biopharm’s success underlines the importance of the support that IWA and our sister organisation AccelerateHER are providing for female-founded businesses across Scotland.

“The global success of this female-led company along with the forthcoming IW AccelerateHER Fund will help encourage more women into launching and scaling their own business, which is vital for wider economic growth and prosperity.”

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