We have advised Zyoxel Limited on a £1.1 million investment from Hong Kong multinational CN Innovations Holdings Limited and the University of Oxford, through the University Challenge Seed Fund.
Zyoxel was spun out of the University of Oxford to commercialise microbioreactor technology in order to improve drug discovery. The technology, developed by Zyoxel co-founders Professor Zhanfeng Cui and Dr Jill Urban, enables cells to grow as three-dimensional tissues instead of conventional single layers. Recent research has shown that this technology can be used to culture more realistic cancer tissue for testing, thereby offering a powerful new tool for cancer drug discovery.
"We estimate Zyoxel's TissueFlex microbioreactors can reduce the average cost of drug development by at least 10 per cent, improving accuracy and time to market," said Dr Tim Hart, CEO of Zyoxel. "Using microbioreactors for three-dimensional tissue culture to test chemicals on a range of lab-cultured human tissues will enable researchers to asses new drug candidates more intelligently. In addition, this technology has the potential to reduce the amount of animal testing worldwide by around 10 per cent per year."
The Mills & Reeve team was led by Zickie Lim, who has advised in relation to over 60 spinouts from universities across the country, including Cambridge, Warwick, Birmingham and Bristol. "We're thrilled to have been involved in the development of such an exciting new company," she said. "By securing this funding, the company has taken a significant step towards achieving its first products sales. We will follow the company's progress with interest."
Dr Hart said Mills & Reeve's expertise in the university spinout field, and Zickie Lim's pragmatic commercial acumen, was vital to closing the investment smoothly and efficiently. "We had a very tight timetable and Mills & Reeve really pulled out the stops to help us achieve our target completion date."
Tom Hockaday, Managing Director of Isis Innovation, the University of Oxford's technology transfer company, said: "Successfully raising funding in the current climate is a challenge, one which Zyoxel has met with a strong technology and business proposition."
The investment marks the first time a Chinese investor has provided funding for an Oxford spinout. "We are delighted to be working with Oxford and with Isis Innovation," said Mr Winston Chan, Chief Technical Officer of CN Innovations Holdings. "This is a great example of bringing world-class research to rapidly-expanding markets in Asia. China is stepping up as a leading innovator in the pharmaceutical and stem cell field."
The Mills & Reeve team also included corporate solicitors Jonathan Greenwood and Pippa Pearce, along with Nicola Kenward advising on technology and Deborah Clark advising on tax and share incentivisation arrangements.