Avectas Secures $10M Angel Funding to Advance Solupore Platform for Simplified Cell Therapy Manufacturing

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on April 9, Irish biopharmaceutical company Avectas announced the completion of a $10 million angel financing round. The investor was private investor Seamus Mulligan, who serves as a board member of U.S. biopharmaceutical company Jazz Pharmaceuticals.

Avectas, founded in 2012 by Dr. Swirley O'Dea and Dr. Michael Maguire, is dedicated to the research of novel cell therapies. The company employs 24 experienced staff members, 13 of whom hold PhDs. In 2019, Avectas was recognized as an “Excellent Bioscience Laboratory” by the Irish Government.

Avectas Co-founders Michael Maguire (left) and Shirley O'Dea (center), and Chief Scientific Officer Gillian Hendy

Cell and gene therapies have made it possible to cure terminal illnesses for millions of patients worldwide. However, traditional cell culture methods suffer from two major drawbacks: reliance on viruses to facilitate cell cultivation, and complex, costly processes. Avectas has developed a patented technology, Solupore, which simplifies the cell culture process while preserving the inherent functionality of the cells. Solupore can be widely applied in fields such as CAR-T therapy, gene editing, and targeted drug development.

Solupore Cell Culture Protocol:

                Step 1                                     Step 2                                              Step 3                                          Step 4

Solupore Workflow Diagram (Source: Avectas Official Website)

Solupore provides optimal conditions for delivering a range of macromolecules, such as mRNA, proteins, and gene-editing tools, into primary cells, including T cells for immuno-oncology and gene-editing applications. Solupore utilizes a membrane-disruption method to rapidly deliver large molecules into cells. This simple, rapid, and gentle process yields high-quality engineered cells. Compared with viral vectors and electroporation, Solupore reduces cell processing time, thereby optimizing manufacturing workflows.

Avectas will attend the Mediterranean Cell & Gene Therapy Conference, to be held in Barcelona, Spain, from April 23 to 25. The conference brings together more than 50 leading companies in the cell and gene therapy sector across Europe, with a focus on showcasing cutting-edge advances over the past year in cell therapy, gene therapy, gene editing, tissue engineering, and related fields.

“The Avectas team is delighted to have received strong support from investors,” said Dr. Michael Maguire, Co-founder and CEO of Avectas. “This funding will be used to further refine the Solupore technology, scale up production, and accelerate commercialization.”

Seamus Mulligan, an Irish private investor, holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master’s degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Trinity College Dublin.

From 2006 to 2012, served as Executive Chairman of Circ Pharma Limited.

Since 2012, has served on the Board of Directors of the U.S. biopharmaceutical company Jazz Pharmaceuticals and held the position of Chief Business Officer, International Business Development.

Reference link:

https://www.avectas.com/

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/health-pharma/seamus-mulligan-leads-10m-funding-for-cell-therapy-start-up-1.3853621

(Compiled by: Yang Shaobo)