£2.5m has been invested into the future of stem cell research to combat killer diseases

London-based private equity firm Calculus Capital has completed its third deal in two weeks, investing £2.5m in Cambridge-based Axol Bioscience (Axol).

Calculus Capital is a leading EIS and VCT investor while Axol provides stem cells produced from reprogrammed human blood and tissue cells.

These cells come from both healthy and diseased patients, and are able to renew themselves and can be used to become any tissue in the human body.

Calculus Capital’s Alexandra Lindsay, commented: “Axol Bioscience is doing very important work; its products and services are essential to gene-based medical research.

“Our investment will enable Axol to grow and develop more product lines that are able to make a real and effective contribution to medical research efforts to combat killer diseases.”

Axol’s supply of human cells - particularly live human neurons - are created by stem cell technology and distributed to many of the world’s biggest pharma companies and research institutions.

The cells are used for disease modelling, medical research and drug development. The company’s client list includes pharmaceutical names and academic organisations like Harvard University, King’s College London and Oxford and Cambridge.

Axol was founded in 2012 by its chairman Jonathan Milner, PhD, and CEO Yichen Shi, PhD, who commented on the investment: “The market for our products is growing rapidly, all around the world.

“The funding from Calculus will help us to make the most of that opportunity through new product development and increasing our sales and marketing capabilities.”

More importantly, Axol’s approach to this method means that each cell line it produces for customers will be identical to the last production batch. Axol’s research goes into treatments for various life-threatening illnesses and diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s.