Female-led biotech start-up raises £1.27m to develop drug delivery technology for cancer therapy

The preclinical biotech start-up Vitarka Therapeutics has secured £1.27m to “revolutionise” intracellular drug delivery through tumour-targeted technology.

Founded in 2021 by Dr Vineeta Tripathi, the company is developing combination medicines using RNAi therapies and a non-viral drug delivery platform to help combat late-stage cancers.

Its “tumour-targeted” platform technology, called EndoPore, aims to target solid tumours and deliver therapeutics for intracellular targets.

The new funds will be used to accelerate the the company’s technology for pre-clinical validation. The development plan will also progress towards pharmacokinetics studies and improving technical processes for large-scale manufacturing.

“It has just been a year since we defined our product so to raise such a substantial amount within this timeframe is remarkable,” said Tripathi.

“Our new investors bring a range of complementary expertise to Vitarka and we are delighted to be working with them. We thank them, together with Innovate UK, for all their support.”

Stephen Chambers, partner and managing director of IndiBio New York, part of SOSV, said: “At IndieBio, we look for companies that want to make a difference in the world and have the passion and skills to deliver on their dreams, and we found that in abundance with Vitarka.

“We are excited about this investment as it represents a unique opportunity to contribute to the advancement of medical treatments and improve patient outcomes.”

He added: “The RNAi and non-viral drug delivery space is full of untapped potential, and we are confident that Vitarka’s unique approach will unleash the full power of this emerging class of therapeutics.

“We are thrilled to continue supporting Vitarka and look forward to being a part of their growth and success.”

Hassan Mahmudul, investor, UKI2S and Future Planet Capital added: “Delivering RNA therapeutics into the right tissues without off-target toxicity is a major problem faced by the pharma industry.

“That is why we are excited to back Vitarka and their unique approach to drug delivery.

“Their development of a novel platform technology has the potential to provide a solution which safely combats tumours and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them”.