The business bank-backed Angel CoFund has joined a group of UK investors in backing Destiny Pharma through a £2.8 million round.
Destiny Pharma will be using the money to develop its lead drug, XF-73, which has been designed to prevent post surgical Staphylococcal aureus (SA) infections. The nasal decolonisation treatment devised by Destiny Pharma has been shown to kill both SA and the drug-resistant form of the bacteria, MRSA, the business says.
Bill Love, CEO of Destiny Pharma, comments, ‘XF-73 has the potential to become a mainstream treatment for the prevention of SA/MRSA hospital infections and its unique feature of addressing antibiotic resistance can enable the widespread delivery of global patient decolonisation.’
New backer Angel CoFund, which has been around since 2011, invests alongside groups of angel backers and is supported by the British business bank and the Regional Growth Fund. To date, the fund has been involved with 42 companies and made personal commitments of £17 million.
Tim Mills, investment director at the Angel CoFund, adds, ‘Destiny Pharma is exactly the type of business we look to invest in; it is innovative, British and cutting edge in the medical field.
‘This round of investment is for Destiny Pharma’s new drug that will kill bacteria via a novel ultra-rapid kill action – designed to even combat antibiotic resistance.’
More on the Angel CoFund:
- Healthy beverage brand Koji latest repeat investment for Angel CoFund
- Angel CoFund joins investors at BaseKit
- Gousto raises further investment from Angel CoFund
Looking at the investment activity of the Angel CoFund in December 2013, GrowthBusiness found that the investor had then made ten follow-on commitments and was holding an average stake of 9.8 per cent in each business. Its one exit had brought it a 3x return on investment.
Speaking then George Whitehead, chairman of the Angel CoFund, said that they have become one of the most active funds in the country from a standing start.
‘Our results clearly demonstrate that angel investing and entrepreneurship is thriving in numerous sectors and right across the UK.’
