Apollo Therapeutics raises $226.5m to develop medicines based on uni research

Company founded by the tech transfer offices of Imperial, Cambridge and UCL has raised major Series C funding to turn basic research into medicines.

Apollo’s new funding is great news for pharmaceutical innovation in the UK. It’s also a vote of confidence in Imperial and other UK universities, and reflects the moves we are making to build ever more fruitful partnerships with investors and businesses. Dr Simon Hepworth Director of Enterprise, Imperial College London

Apollo Therapeutics, a biopharmaceutical company founded in 2015 by a consortium of technology transfer offices and pharma companies prior to a management buy-out in 2021, has raised large-scale investment to fund its ongoing collaboration with Imperial and other selected university partners.

The new funding round, led by Patient Square Capital, adds $226.5 million to the company, making a total investment since 2015 of over $400 million. Apollo will continue to use its financing to collaborate with universities and research institutes and translate the world-leading basic biomedical research conducted in the UK into innovative new therapies for a range of clinical indications of high medical need.

Dr Richard Mason, Chief Executive Officer of Apollo Therapeutics, said. “Apollo has built a broad and diversified pipeline based on the novel science from our world-leading university partners, focused on major commercial markets and this latest fund-raising enables us to take our most advanced programs to key clinical value inflection points.” 

Imperial is a major partner of Apollo with a track record of collaboration leading to potential innovative new drug discovery and development. Three of Apollo’s leading programmes have been established through collaboration with Imperial scientists, including: 

• A novel vaccine for the prevention of serious exacerbations of asthma and COPD, with Professor Sebastian Johnston in the National Heart and Lung Institute;
• A new treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia and potentially other liquid tumors, with Professor Holger Auner of Imperial’s Department of Immunology and Inflammation and Professor Matthew Fuchter in the Department of Chemistry;
• The discovery of biologic inhibitors for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, in collaboration with Professor Martin Wilkins and Professor Lan Zhao at the National Heart and Lung Institute.

Dr Simon Hepworth, Director of Enterprise at Imperial College London, said: “Apollo’s new funding is great news for pharmaceutical innovation in the UK. It’s also a vote of confidence in Imperial and other UK universities, and reflects the moves we are making to build ever more fruitful partnerships with investors and businesses to accelerate the translation of research breakthroughs into new medical treatments that improve patients’ lives.”

Dr Vjera Magdalenic-Moussavi, Director of Industry Partnerships and Commercialisation (Medicine) at Imperial added: "It's fantastic to see insights from the basic research taking place at Imperial turning into potentially life-changing new treatments, and we're grateful to Apollo for taking these journeys with us – my congratulations to the team on their major new funding."

Alongside the lead investor, Apollo received Series C funding from M&G plc, Rock Springs Capital, and two of the largest US public pension plans. The company is partnered in addition to Imperial with the University of Cambridge, UCL, King’s College London, and the Institute of Cancer Research.