This second close of the Company’s Series A was led by Parkwalk Advisors and incorporates additional funding from strategic Corporate Pharma investor Astellas Venture Management as well as 24Haymarket, co-Founder of Abcam PLC, Dr Jonathan Milner, and Mogrify CEO, Dr Darrin M Disley OBE.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance Mogrify’s immuno-oncology and ophthalmology programs, inclusive of iPSC-derived allogeneic cell therapies targeting hematological and solid malignancies, as well as in vivo reprogramming therapies aiming to address retinal degeneration, a leading cause of blindness, through to IND-enabling studies.
Mogrify’s proprietary suite of platform technologies enable systematic identification of the key transcriptomic and epigenetic cell switches that drive the speed, efficiency and maintenance of cellular reprogramming. In addition to the Company’s core programs, the broad potential of both the MOGRIFY® and epiMOGRIFY technologies allow continued exploration and generation of novel cell-based and in vivo reprogramming therapies for disease areas with high unmet clinical need.
Mogrify also announced the appointments of Dr Lorenz Mayr, former CTO of GE Healthcare Life Sciences and Vice President Discovery Sciences at AstraZeneca, as Non-Executive Director, after serving as an Observer since July 2020, and Dr Hiromichi Kimura, Astellas Venture Management as an Observer.
Dr Darrin M. Disley, OBE, CEO, Mogrify (pictured), said: “We are delighted to see the continued support of our existing investors, as well as welcome new investors Astellas Venture Management and Dr Jonathan Milner, in support of the progression of our initial programs through to IND-enabling studies.
"Their commitment is a testament to our delivery of world-class science, expertise in cellular reprogramming and the unique potential of the MOGRIFY and epiMOGRIFY platforms to develop novel in vivo reprogramming therapies while also addressing issues of scalability and manufacturing in ex vivo cell therapies. This latest funding will provide runway toward a significant Series B round as we progress our lead assets toward the clinic.”
Alastair Kilgour, Chief Investment Officer, Parkwalk Advisors, said: “Mogrify is led by a team with proven world-class commercial and scientific expertise who have made significant progress in applying the technology to drive the speed, efficiency and maintenance of cellular reprogramming. We are excited to continue supporting their extraordinary team as the Company progresses with increasing success in cell and gene therapy development.”
For further information about investing in Mogrify, please visit: https://mogrify.co.uk/investors/