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Scancell Ltd

Scancell Ltd is a spin-out company from the University of Nottingham that has become a significant player in the discovery and development of therapeutic antibodies and vaccines for the treatment of cancer.

In early 2004, Scancell raised £1.3 million with the help of Oxfordshire Investment Opportunity Network (OION), and investment from Bioscience VCT and Oxford Technology 3 VCT. The new funding enabled Scancell to accelerate the development of its leading cancer therapeutics products and move to dedicated laboratories in BioCity Nottingham, the UK’s largest bioscience and healthcare innovation centre in the heart of the East Midlands.

Dr Mike Capaldi, Chief Executive Officer of Scancell, said:

“Scancell has already demonstrated its ability to develop a pipeline of new products that harness the immune system in a unique way to treat or prevent cancer, and to close commercial deals with major biotechnology partners such as Celltech, Genmab, a leading Danish antibody company and ISU, a company at the forefront of Korean biotechnology. The new investment will allow us to bring our products closer to market, and to further develop our ImmunoBody™ technology for improved cancer vaccines. This unique, patented technology also has the potential to be used to develop a range of vaccines against infection and inflammatory diseases. We are also pleased to be moving to BioCity – their state of the art facilities, and support services, will significantly help our growth plans.”

Dr Capaldi praised Oxfordshire Investment Opportunity Network (OION):

“The OION Network made the fundraising process as painless as possible, and were supportive throughout. We presented at one of their investment meetings and generated immediate interest from a good number of their investors. The follow up by the Network’s management was also excellent.”

Alastair Cavanagh, Manager of Oxfordshire Investment Opportunity Network, said:

“We congratulate Scancell on their successful fundraising. We are delighted that the OION Network’s investors are backing this exciting company, led by an extremely strong management team – it demonstrates our investors’ readiness to invest in excellent opportunities in the biotechnology sector. The OION Network brokers deals for a range of innovative technology businesses across the UK. Many are university spin-out companies like Scancell, and OION is uniquely positioned to help them.”

Dr Glenn Crocker, Chief Executive of BioCity Nottingham, said:

“I am delighted to welcome Scancell to BioCity. In the past bioscience start-ups in the East Midlands have had some difficulty attracting significant investment from venture capitalists and business angels, and the challenge for BioCity is to help attract funding into the great companies that are being developed here. Scancell’s success shows that investors are waking up to the fact that the region’s bioscience industry has the intellectual property worthy of raising substantial venture capital.”

Website: www.scancell.co.uk