Biopharmaceutical company Glythera, which specialises in vaccines and therapeutics, has been backed by IP Group in a deal which will see £2 million tranched over the next three years.

Glythera has recently established a commercial operation at Newcastle’s INEX incubator facility, a move that was made possible by an initial £600,000 investment split equally between IP Group and its managed fund, the Finance for Business North East Technology Fund.

According to IP Group, the next two slices of investment will be of a similar size but are based on certain milestones being met by Glythera.

The North East Technology Fund is a £25 million venture capital fund which backs businesses that are based in the North East of England or are prepared to relocate there. The backing of Glythera sees it move from Somerset to the North East.

Glythera chairman Anthony Baxter says that the business has managed to close a funding round in ‘what remains a challenging environment’.

He believes that its ability to close the round is testament to the strength of its technology as well as its leadership and technical skills that exist in its team.

As part of the move north Glythera has appointed David Simpson as chief operating officer. Simpson brings experience in the biopharmaceutical industry and has held senior technical, managerial and leadership positions around the world.

Simpson adds, ‘Relocating to the North East makes a lot of sense for us, due to the region’s strong pedigree in biomanufacturing, giving us the ideal base from which to partner with leading companies and attract a skilled workforce.’

Founded in 2001, IP Group listed on AIM in October 2003 and moved to the Official List in June 2006. It has partnerships with 12 universities.