ADC Bio secures £1.14m investment from Downing LLP to finance innovative bioconjugation and US expansion

 ADC Biotechnology (ADC Bio), announces that it has secured £1.14 million in funding from investment managers, Downing LLP. The funds will bolster the company’s business drive for faster penetration of the main US market. The investment will also assist the development of an advanced bioconjugation method – an entirely new ADC manufacturing approach set to transform the industry, and a conceptual design for implementation of a fill-finish operation within the existing facility at Deeside. The funding vehicle – Downing FOUR VCT Healthcare – was established through a partnership between BioScience Managers, the leading healthcare investment specialists, and Downing LLP to provide a new healthcare share class to Venture Capital Trust (VCT) investors.

ADC Bio announced last month that it is in the process of developing and internally validating its new upstream bioconjugation approach. The highly disruptive method, which leverages the company’s patented Lock-Release technology, would save several months of manufacturing time and up to 25% of overall manufacturing costs.

Charlie Johnson, CEO of ADC Bio commented: "We are very pleased to have been selected by Downing LLP and BioScience Managers for this investment and we look forward to putting the capital to great use in two major elements of our overall strategy for continued growth. The funding will in part help us to continue to lead further industry innovation, specifically, the investigation and validation of our upstream bioconjugation method - the benefits of which we then intend to bring to the market. Moreover, the investment also provides us with more resources to implement the latest phase in our business development plan, namely, securing more contracts from the main US market in our drive to further expand our international client base and thereby to increase total revenues."

Richard Lewis, director at Downing LLP commented: "ADC Bio is an incredibly innovative CDMO, helping its clients to develop a new class of drugs to combat cancer. The healthcare industry is growing globally and it will continue to grow, funded by the increasing requirements of not just Western economies but those in China, India and Japan. A key driver of the market opportunity is the increasing demands on healthcare generally, and for cures for diseases previously without effective treatment."

About ADC Bio

ADC Bio is an innovative biotechnology company developing new process technology to speed, simplify and significantly lower the production costs of the latest generation of anti-cancer blockbuster drugs, Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADCs). Formed in 2010, the Company has commercialised and expanded facilities at St Asaph, Denbighshire into an international centre of expertise in the manufacture of ADCs. As specialists in state-of-the-art bio-conjugation techniques and cytotoxin drug-linker synthesis, the Company offers technical services to assist drug developers to deliver next generation ADCs and other biomolecule conjugates. ADC Bio’s proprietary ‘Lock-Release’ technology aims to become a new paradigm in the way ADCs are developed and manufactured, increasing accessibility for patients by helping to contain ADC production complexity and cost. ‘Lock-Release’ technology results in fast, simple and robust conjugation processes, with the potential to eliminate several process steps whilst enhancing product quality.

About Downing LLP

Downing LLP is a London-based investment management firm. We help UK businesses grow by investing in them via our range of venture capital trust (VCT), enterprise investment schemes (EIS), inheritance tax (IHT), individual savings account (ISA) and open-ended investment company (OEIC) products. So far, over 35,000 investors have been a part of what we do, and we are proud to have raised over £1.7 billion into businesses across a range of sectors, from renewable energy, care homes, health clubs,, and children's nurseries, to app-technology, sports nutrition and satellite earth stations. We currently have over £875 million of funds under management.

About BioScience Managers

BioScience Managers is a leading healthcare investment specialist founded in 2003, with the assistance of VicStartb. It invests in a portfolio of biomedical companies which have clear technological and market advantages in which it can influence success and is confident of managing an exit. Past funds have averaged a net annual internal rate of return above 20 per cent. Jeremy Curnock Cook is an industry veteran with more than 30 years of experience in healthcare investing

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