The new company will use cell biology research on DNA repair from Professor Stephen Jackson’s laboratory at the Gurdon Institute at the University of Cambridge, to develop drugs that target enzymes linked to cancer and other diseases.

The funding was raised by a syndicate that includes Imperial Innovations, SR One and Roche Venture Fund.

Mission Therapeutics, which is located on the Babraham Research Campus in Cambridge, will use the financing to exploit research on ubiquitin pathways that control cellular responses to DNA damage.

Jackson says, ‘Importantly, while having the potential to be effective by themselves, these drugs could also improve the effectiveness of existing cancer treatments, such as radiotherapy and certain chemotherapies.’

Jackson is joined by the other founding scientists, Dr Niall Martin, Dr Xavier Jacq and Dr Keith Minear who, until recently, were all at KuDOS Pharmaceuticals, a Cambridge biotech company also founded by Jackson.

Graziano Seghezzi, partner at Paris-based Sofinnova, comments, ‘Novel effective treatments for cancer remain in high demand.

‘Mission Therapeutics, under Professor Jackson’s scientific leadership, has the potential to discover new molecularly targeted drugs that could revolutionise the way cancer patients are treated.’

Sofinnova has backed nearly 500 businesses in the life sciences, technology and cleantech sectors, and has €1.1 billion (£972.4 million) under management.