5 January 2023

Qkine raises £4.3m in funding co-led by Parkwalk Advisors and Downing Ventures

The oversubscribed round will scale up manufacturing and research for the bioactive protein developer.

£4.3M

Share allotment filed at Companies House

Qkine develops and manufactures animal-free bioactive proteins and growth factors for stem cell research, regenerative medicine and cellular agriculture applications.

Qkine has secured £4.3m in an oversubscribed funding round co-led by Parkwalk Advisors and Downing Ventures, with participation from Oxford Innovation EIS Growth Fund and OION Angels.

The capital will be directed towards scaling up manufacturing capabilities, research and development, and commercial operations for its animal-free growth factors.

The company emerged as a spin-out from Cambridge University, leveraging protein engineering technology to supply critical reagents for stem cell culture, drug discovery, and cellular agriculture.

From the founder

"We are at an exciting stage of development, with new funds facilitating our next phase of rapid growth as we continue our mission of providing more reliable tools for research and bio-manufacturing. Our platform provides an improved process for complex protein manufacture at exceptionally high purity and unique engineered products that address specific challenges for stem cell biology. Growth factors are essential reagents for all stem cell manufacturing, and therefore critical for the delivery of cell therapies and cultivated meats."

Catherine Elton

CEO and Founder at Qkine

Investor perspective

"Oxford Innovation Finance is always looking to support early-stage companies developing bold ideas to solve the challenges of future generations. Qkine is a unique innovator of bioactive growth factor proteins which support essential industries such as regenerative medicine and cellular agriculture, enhancing their stem cell manufacturing processes. Its products enable the development of new stem cell therapies, drug discovery and precision medicine for a diverse range of global therapeutic areas including liver disease and diabetes."