Mills & Reeve advises on $28m funding deal for oncology therapeutics company

Mosaic Therapeutics is an oncology therapeutics company dedicated to resolving cancer’s complexity and power new treatments for patients. The company will use to the investment to advance its pipeline of targeted oncology therapies and support a recruitment drive which includes building its senior management team.

The investment was from Syncona Ltd, a leading healthcare company focused on creating, building and scaling a portfolio of global leaders in life sciences, and Cambridge Innovation Capital which focuses on deeptech and life sciences businesses in the Cambridge ecosystem.

Mosaic is the most recent spin-out company from the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Its proprietary platform applies research from co-founder Dr Mathew Garnett’s Translational Cancer Genomics Laboratory at the Institute.

Brian Gladsden, CEO, Mosaic Therapeutics, said: “I believe that Mosaic is ideally positioned to resolve the complexity of cancer, to discover and develop targeted therapies that address areas of high unmet need. To receive funding from such high calibre investors is testament to the potential of Mosaic’s technology and multidisciplinary team, as well as the exceptional support provided by the Wellcome Sanger Institute.”

Magdalena Jonikas, lead partner at Syncona Investment Management Limited and director of Mosaic, said: “The unprecedented insights provided by the genomic revolution have enabled more targeted drug development, with drug targets being de-risked by genetics or data. This approach to drug discovery is a focus for us at Syncona and Mosaic is a great example of a company built around this concept. With a differentiated strategy that can accelerate entry to the clinic, and the potential for application in a number of oncology settings in cancers which have previously been difficult to treat, we are excited for the potential of this platform.”

Mariya Chhatriwala, business development manager at Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: “The Sanger Institute’s ability to carry out high-throughput genomic research at an exceptional scale enables unique insights into biology. Mathew Garnett, a leader in the field of cancer genomics, has used pipelines and infrastructure provided by the Institute to develop a world-class cancer target and drug discovery platform. The funding of Mosaic Therapeutics by top-tier investment firms to further leverage this platform and develop the next generation of cancer therapeutics highlights the potential for Sanger’s cutting-edge science to create significant improvements for human health.”

Zickie Lim, head of the venture capital and investments team at Mills & Reeve, said: “It is always a great pleasure to advise the Wellcome Sanger Institute on the spinouts of world leading genome research companies that are at the forefront of science and medicine. Mosaic Therapeutics is an excellent example of cutting-edge innovation that is dedicated to improving the outcomes of patients across the globe.”

The Mills & Reeve team was led by Christina O’Brien and also included James Fry, Head of Life Sciences.