We have advised Baseimmune, a biotech company that uses proprietary, deep learning AI to predict future pathogen mutations to generate novel vaccines on its £9 million institutional funding, led by new investors MSD Global Health Innovation Fund and IQ Capital, with participation from existing investors including Hoxton Ventures, Creator Fund, Beast Ventures and Maki.vc.
Baseimmune is a discovery stage biotech company focused on antigen discovery and vaccine development. The technology is based on a computational platform deciphering pathogen evolution to design cross-protective vaccines. By using big data and a design algorithm, Baseimmune has been able to shorten the time it takes to develop a vaccine candidate. The antigen designs can be fed into any vaccine technology platform, including mRNA, DNA and viral vectors, to create universal “future-proof” vaccines engineered to be effective against current and potentially emerging variants.
The £9 million Series A funding will enable Baseimmune to accelerate development of its three vaccine candidates currently in preclinical development for African swine fever, coronavirus, and malaria. The company will also use the new capital to further advance its technology, expand its team, increase the number of programs in development and accelerate new vaccine programs.
Commenting on the transaction, corporate partner Ross McNaughton said: "Baseimmune's innovative AI prediction technology pioneers the next generation of universal vaccines, and we are excited to be the legal partner to Baseimmune since 2021 and supporting them on this further funding. Ever since the Covid pandemic, vaccine development has come back into the fore as a form of treatment that can have truly transformational benefits. We look forward to continue partnering with the company as it continues this important work."
CEO and Co-founder of Baseimmune, Joshua Blight comments: "We're thrilled about this funding as it will enable us to accelerate the development of our technology, scale our programs, and expedite the delivery of impactful vaccines against future viruses. We would like to extend our thanks to the Taylor Wessing team for their expertise and commitment to excellence. Their ability to provide a one-stop solution for us that combines cross-practice advice in corporate financing and licensing and partnering collaborations, coupled with life sciences and AI sector expertise was invaluable."
The deal was led by partner Ross McNaughton, senior associate Oli Denne and associate Nadege Serna in the Corporate team with support from partner Colin McCall in the Life Sciences Commercialisation team.
