Alchemab secures £25 million from the British Business Bank in its largest investment in life sciences to date.

      Cambridge-based biotechnology company Alchemab Therapeutics has augmented its Series A funding by securing a £25 million ($34 million) investment from the British Business Bank, marking the lender's largest commitment to a life sciences enterprise so far.

      The funds are intended to assist the clinical-stage company in developing its drug pipeline and enlarging a proprietary antibody dataset that is already among the most extensive of its type, especially in a domain where AI-driven antibody discovery is gaining increased attention from investors.

      Alchemab indicated that the financing would enable it to expand its database from 500 million to over a billion antibody sequences while advancing additional clinical candidates into development. This new funding raises its total Series A capital to £109 million.

      Founded in 2019, Alchemab focuses on discovering what it terms autoprotective antibodies, which are naturally occurring molecules present in individuals exhibiting unusual resistance to difficult-to-treat diseases.

      The company's Resiliome platform merges this antibody database with what it describes as advanced AI and laboratory validation to pinpoint and characterize antibodies that provide protection.

      According to the company, the platform utilizes AI-generated algorithms to identify naturally occurring antibodies in individuals who resist various hard-to-treat diseases and subsequently develops first-in-class drugs from these antibodies.

      Alchemab refers to its resulting database as the largest antibody dataset globally derived from disease-resilient individuals.

      This strategy has already yielded a leading asset. ATLX-1282, characterized by the firm as a first-in-class antibody therapeutic for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is currently in clinical development and has been licensed to Eli Lilly—a collaboration that Alchemab claims offers strong validation of its platform.

      “We are thrilled that the British Business Bank recognizes the importance of empowering Alchemab to flourish in the UK,” stated Dr. Jane Osbourn, the company’s CEO and co-founder. She expressed that the investment provides "further validation of the sustainable, long-term potential" of the firm's drug discovery platform and will expedite the development of therapies for conditions with significant unmet needs.

      Dame Kate Bingham, managing partner at SV Health Investors and chair of Alchemab’s board, characterized this funding round as a test of the UK’s capability to develop its own biotech enterprises. “The UK life sciences sector possesses the expertise, creativity, and commercial potential to create globally significant biotech companies, and Alchemab is committed to being one of those,” she noted.

      For the British Business Bank, this investment signifies a strong commitment. Charlotte Lawrence, managing director of direct equity, described it as a “landmark” investment and stated that Alchemab “operates at the forefront of UK scientific capability, merging deep sequencing with lab-based validation to leverage the body’s natural defenses against illness.”

      Carmine Circelli, senior investment director for life sciences at the bank, mentioned that Alchemab has combined “one of the world’s largest proprietary antibody datasets with advanced AI” to create a platform capable of unlocking new treatment possibilities. The bank highlighted that its investment would facilitate the translation of promising results into valuable medical breakthroughs.

      The British Business Bank serves as the UK government’s economic development bank, established in 2014 to support smaller businesses in obtaining the financing needed to start, grow, and remain operational within the UK.

      As per Alchemab, the investment is channeled through British Patient Capital, the bank’s commercial arm. The company's existing investors include SV Health Investors, along with its Dementia Discovery Fund, RA Capital Management, DCVC Bio, Eli Lilly, Lightstone Ventures, Ono Venture Investment, and Camford Partners. Alchemab reports that it has cultivated a diverse pipeline of first- and best-in-class assets targeting hard-to-treat diseases.

      The fundraising comes at a time when investors are evaluating the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on drug development while British biotech firms seek both domestic and international investments. The broader UK narrative has highlighted substantial multi-billion-pound investments in homegrown companies, among which Alchemab aspires to be a notable example.