The final closing of the round was led by Dr. Jonathan Milner, CEO, Abcam Plc, with existing investors DFJ Esprit, MVM Life Science, Roche Venture Fund, David Evans, Peter Collins, and Providence Investment Company Limited also participating. New investors include Wren Capital, Calculus Capital, the University of Cambridge Enterprise Fund and members of Horizon’s senior management team.
This latest funding will be used to drive profitable growth for Horizon in the following five areas:
(1) Sale of genetically defined cell line production and discovery research services powered by its GENESIS™ and X-MAN™ translational genomics platforms.
(2) Sale of the world’s only bank of (500+) genetically-defined X-MAN™ cell lines, and associated reporter-gene assay kits.
(3) Expanding product development capability, product inventory and channels to market of its rapidly expanding molecular diagnostic reagents division.
(4) Sale of engineering services and cell line products that optimize the production of ethical bio-pharmaceuticals.
(5) Delivery of established discovery research programs including the harvest of over £100M pre-clinical and clinical milestone payments already in place.
Since its foundation in July 2007 Horizon has undergone rapid growth, reaching 80 FTEs and occupying a state-of-the-art 20,000 sq. ft. facility. Revenue growth has been strong with a 5 year compound annual growth rate in excess of 100% in the years 2007-2011. Growth has been achieved primarily through exports with the 364% increase achieved in the years 2008-11 resulting in the award in 2012 of the Queens Award for Enterprise in International Trade. Strong growth is projected to continue with 2013 expected to exceed 70%.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr Darrin M Disley, CEO of Horizon said: “We would like to thank our existing and new investors for supporting the Company in this latest stage of its development. I look forward to leading the business through this organic growth phase and delivering shareholder value and a liquidity event within the next business cycle.”
Dr Jonathan Milner, Lead Investor, Horizon Discovery Non-Executive Director and CEO of Abcam Plc, said: “We live in a golden age of biology and companies like Horizon are exciting because of the application of a business model that is able to exploit the many diverse opportunities that arise from having a scalable and versatile platform technology. I look for three things in companies that I get involved with and invest in. The first is an outstanding management team, the second is a platform technology that can disrupt and grow a market and last but not least customers banging on the door. Horizon has all three in abundance.”
About Horizon Discovery www.horizondiscovery.com/
Horizon Discovery Limited (Horizon) is a leading provider of research tools to support translational genomics research and the development of personalized medicines. Using GENESISTM, the Company’s proprietary rAAV gene-editing technology, Horizon is able to alter any endogenous gene sequence of a human or mammalian cell-line quickly, reliably and without introducing unwanted and confounding genotypes and/or phenotypes.
Horizon has applied GENESIS to create over 500 X-MAN™ cell lines, the world’s first source of genetically-defined and patient-relevant human cell lines, accurately modeling the disease-causing mutations found in cancer patients. These ‘patients-in-a-test-tube’ are being used by academic and industry leaders to identify the effect of individual or compound genetic mutations on drug activity, patient responsiveness, and resistance, leading to the successful prediction of which patient sub-groups will respond to currently-available and future drug treatments. This enables the design of shorter, more focused, and less expensive clinical trials, ultimately providing the tools to identify the ‘right drugs’ for the ‘right patients’ based upon the unique genetic mutations that define their disease.
In addition to the X-MAN cell lines, Horizon provides GENESIS and X-MAN™ derived products and services, with industrial application in: bio-pharmaceutical process optimization; clinical diagnostic development; drug discovery & development; and the provision of reference standards for genomic-based clinical research platforms.
GENESIS and X-MAN are registered trademarks of Horizon Discovery Limited.
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Contacts:
At Horizon:
Dr. Darrin M. Disley, CEO
Email: d.disley@horizondiscovery.com
Media enquiries:
Katie Odgaard
Zyme Communications
Tel: +44 (0)7787 502 947
Email: katie.odgaard@zymecommunications.com
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