How Edinburgh pioneer behind 'holy grail' gene therapy technology raised £3 million

An Edinburgh-based biotech pioneer behind technology described as the “holy grail for emerging gene therapies” has been given a £3 million funding injection.

Concinnity Genetics - co-founded by Jessica Birt and Matthew Dale - has developed novel control mechanisms using a cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) platform and its synthetic biology expertise. These unique systems are said to enable the precise control of gene therapies even after dosing, conveying the ability to respond to and reduce their own side effects.

The fledgling venture today announced the closure of an oversubscribed £3m seed funding round. The investment was led by Fife-based Eos Advisory with support from Scottish Enterprise, Old College Capital (OCC) - the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture investment fund - and Maven Capital Partners.

Mark Beaumont, partner at Eos; Jessica Birt, CEO and co-founder; Dr Matthew Dale, CSO and co-founder, Professor David Venables, chair of board; Professor Susan Rosser, chair of scientific advisory board. Picture by Stewart Attwood

The cash injection will enable the firm to spin out from the lab of Professor Susan Rosser and the UKRI UK Centre for Mammalian Synthetic Biology at the University of Edinburgh and establish operations in Scotland’s “thriving” life science hub, bosses said. The investment will be used to initiate three new programmes developing control systems targeted at key applications within the cell and gene therapy market, as well as continuing to develop Concinnity’s existing control systems.

Chief executive and co-founder Birt said: “We are so excited to be taking the next step in our spin-out journey and want to sincerely thank all the investors and supporters who have helped us make it happen. Our ambition is to be the go-to partner for gene control to make gene and cell therapies as safe as possible.

“This commitment from our investors, building on the ongoing support from Scottish Enterprise, speaks to the potential they see in our work, and we look forward to using the funding to further develop our technology.”

Andrew McNeill, managing partner at Eos, said: “Concinnity is a perfect fit for Eos’s focus on backing pioneering Scottish science, addressing a significant unmet need in gene therapy. By combining synthetic biology and AI-machine learning, the Concinnity technology has been described as the ‘holy grail for emerging gene therapies’, making such treatments both more effective and safer.”

For the past two years, Concinnity has been supported by Scottish Enterprise as part of its high growth spinout programme. This funding has enabled the team to develop its technology, generating data for commercial validation that has supported the successful completion of the seed investment.

Kerry Sharp, director of entrepreneurship and investment at Scottish Enterprise, said: “This investment round clearly demonstrates the huge potential of Concinnity’s technology, which has been recognised by investors. Scottish Enterprise has supported the team since its beginnings within the University of Edinburgh, so it’s fantastic to now be investing in it as it prepares to spin out.

“Life sciences is one of Scotland’s key growth industries and our investment and ongoing business support will help Concinnity convert and scale its innovation into international growth, delivering maximum benefits for Scotland’s economy,” she added.

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