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British Patient Capital invests in Quell Therapeutics’ $156m funding round through Future Fund: Breakthrough

Press release 29 November 2021

British Patient Capital announces its participation in Quell Therapeutics’ Series B funding round as Quell announces the close of the round at $156m. The deal is the first life sciences investment from Future Fund: Breakthrough, a £375m programme where British Patient Capital co-invests with private sector investors in innovative R&D-intensive UK companies.

Quell Therapeutics (“Quell”), which is based at the Translation & Innovation Hub in London, is a leader in the development of engineered T-regulatory (Treg) cell therapies for serious medical conditions driven by over activity of the immune system. Quell’s platform technology enables it to design, engineer and manufacture at scale therapeutic Treg products, which have greater stability, persistence and potency than earlier generations. One potential use of Quell’s cell therapies is to prevent the need for lifelong immunosuppression treatment after organ transplantation. This would improve the quality of life for patients, by reducing the risks of transplant rejection and side effects caused by chronic immunosuppression treatment while at the same time reducing the costs of care.

Future Fund: Breakthrough was established to help UK R&D intensive companies raise the patient capital they need, to fuel the later stages of their growth. In doing so, our aim is to help ensure the UK is a world leader in the industries of the future. Through our investment in Quell, we are supporting the continued growth of a UK life sciences leader, at the forefront of a new wave of cell therapy. Their transformative therapies have the potential to address major unmet medical needs. We look forward to seeing how the company develops. Judith Hartley CEO, British Patient Capital
We are proud to have the support of British Patient Capital as part of a premiere syndicate of investors as we drive forward to our next stage of growth. With this financing, we have the full suite of capabilities – capital, cutting-edge science originating from leading UK and European universities, and a world-class team – to advance our pipeline and platform to key milestones on our path ultimately to deliver potentially transformative therapies to patients suffering from diseases caused by immune dysregulation. Iain McGill CEO, Quell Therapeutics

Further Information

Notes to editors

About British Patient Capital

British Patient Capital is the trading name of British Patient Capital Limited, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc, the UK government’s economic development bank. It forms part of the British Business Bank’s commercial arm.

Its mission is to enable long-term investment in innovative firms led by ambitious entrepreneurs who want to build large scale businesses. Launched in June 2018, British Patient Capital has £2.5bn to invest over 10 years in venture and venture growth capital to support high growth potential innovative UK businesses in accessing the long-term financing they require to scale up. Find out more at britishpatientcapital.co.uk.

British Business Bank plc and its principal operating subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. Neither British Business Bank nor its principal operating subsidiaries are authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries can be found on the British Business Bank plc website.

British Patient Capital makes commitments and invests on its own behalf and on behalf of third-party investors whose investments British Patient Capital manages.

The investment from British Patient Capital into Quell Therapeutics Limited does not amount to any endorsement or warranty from British Patient Capital, the British Business Bank plc, or the government of the UK.

About Future Fund: Breakthrough

Future Fund: Breakthrough, managed by British Patient Capital, addresses the later stage equity finance gap faced by innovative, R&D-intensive UK companies with cutting edge technologies. These companies often require more capital and take longer to get to market than other companies.

Through the Future Fund: Breakthrough programme, British Patient Capital makes equity co-investments with private sector investors in later stage R&D-intensive UK companies operating in breakthrough technology sectors.

Companies must, inter alia, be raising a minimum total investment round size of £30m, and the maximum British Patient Capital will contribute to an investment round is 30%. British Patient Capital invests on the same terms as private sector investors.

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