Schroders Capital, the $99.3bn private markets business of Schroders, announces today that its UK Innovation Long-Term Asset Fund (LTAF) has invested in Draig Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharma company aiming to transform the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases.
The UK is Europe‘s largest venture capital market and “a global innovation hub – home to many innovative, fast-growing early-stage companies.”
Schroders Capital’s launch of the UK Innovation LTAF last year represented the first “investment structure of its kind for UK venture capital, a fund designed to give a broader range of investors access to private markets.”
The strategy focuses on fostering the “growth of UK early-stage companies, with a particular emphasis on technology and life sciences, investing across key innovation themes such as artificial intelligence, cloud software, fintech, oncology and biopharmaceuticals.”
The investment in Draig marks the fund’s first “direct biopharma investment following recent investments in AI companies, Synthesia and Luminance.”
It also builds on the fund’s first “£500m close announced earlier this year.”
Draig was formed through a partnership between Cardiff University’s Medicine Discovery Institute and SV Health Investors, with founders Professor John Atack, Professor Simon Ward and Ruth McKernan CBE.
It has since attracted a “team of neuropsychiatric industry specialists highly experienced in developing transformative therapies.”
Now an established company with deep biotech and pharma experience, Draig is leveraging its founders’ scientific expertise in “modulating neurotransmitters that play a critical role in neuropsychiatric diseases with the aim of advancing a pipeline of therapies designed to address unmet patient needs, including in Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).”
Draig is backed by a “syndicate of expert biopharma investors, reflecting strong confidence in the company’s impact and innovation.”
The company has launched having “raised $140 million from seed investors SV Health Investors, which co-founded the company, and ICG, as well as an oversubscribed Series A financing, led by Access Biotechnology with several participants including the UK Innovation Fund LTAF.”
The new capital raised will help to advance Draig’s innovation “within this space, with proceeds funding four clinical studies.”
Ruth McKernan, Venture Partner at SV Health Investors, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of Draig, commented:
“Making the best molecules to rebalance brain networks has been John and Simon’s life work. It has been a professional highlight for me to be part of creating this hugely promising company too.”
Harry Raikes, Head of UK Venture Investments, Schroders Capital said:
“We are delighted to complete the UK Innovation LTAF’s first biopharma investment with Draig, an exciting Welsh company developing novel therapeutics for neuropsychiatric diseases. Draig’s research and development track record coupled with its strong pipeline has the potential to deliver meaningful steps for patients in critical need and exemplifies the important innovation the fund is committed to supporting.”
They added:
“This investment marks an important milestone for the UK Innovation LTAF, both as our initial step into the life sciences sector and as an acceleration of our deployment momentum. We look forward to continuing to back the ‘scale-up’ of critical, early-stage businesses in the UK whilst also unlocking access and value for savers across the country.”
Schroders Capital’s private equity team “has a track record in venture capital investing with almost three decades of early-stage technology and biopharma investment experience.”
It launched the UK Innovation LTAF last year in response to increasing demand from defined contribution clients, “reflecting the team’s position in launching innovative structures to open-up access for a broader set of clients.”
The fund is reportedly managed “by Schroders Capital’s Tim Creed, Head of Private Equity Investments, and Harry Raikes, Head of UK Venture Investments.”
