UK-based synthetic biology startup, Constructive Bio, has secured $58 million in funding from private investors to further its work in engineering cell systems for manufacturing a variety of molecules. The startup, founded by Dr. Jason Chin, a prominent scientist from the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, has built on groundbreaking research from 2019, in which Chin’s lab synthesized the complete E. coli genome with a streamlined genetic code.
This latest funding round, a Series A, was led by investors Ahren, OMX Ventures, and Paladin Capital Group, with participation from Fine Structure Ventures, +ND Capital, and Jonathan Milner, founder of Abcam. Nobel laureate Sir Gregory Winter, known for his pioneering work in antibody therapeutics, will join Constructive Bio’s board as an Ahren representative.
The new funds will support Constructive Bio in advancing several projects, including the production of incretin mimetics, a drug class that includes popular obesity treatments like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound. Dr. Chin noted that Constructive Bio has successfully synthesized semaglutide analogs and incretin mimetics, and the funds will be used to explore further possibilities and scalable production methods, aiming to address current challenges in manufacturing these drugs sustainably.
In addition to incretin mimetics, Constructive Bio’s platform shows promise in developing enhanced antibody-drug conjugates, with the ability to refine stability, half-life, and protein targeting capabilities. The company’s progress builds on a previous $15 million seed round announced in 2022, bringing its total funding to $75 million.
