UK – Kuano, a Cambridge, UK-based drug discovery company combining quantum mechanics with AI to design innovative medicines, closed a £1.8m seed funding.
The round was led by Mercia Ventures and including ACF Investors, Ascension Ventures, o2h Ventures, Meltwind Advisory LLP and other angel investors. The company intends to use the funds to facilitate further validation of its platform for the design of more effective potential drugs to target enzymes, as well as continued growth through strategic partnerships and recruitment.Co-founded in 2020 by Drs Vid Stojevic, an expert in quantum physics and AI, David Wright, who specialises in molecular modelling and simulation, Parminder Ruprah, a highly experienced ‘drug hunter’, and Jarryl D’Oyley, an expert computational medicinal chemist. Kuano provides a quantum simulation platform that enables scientists to see and model enzymes in their dynamic state, opening new possibilities for more effective drug design. By combining these unique enzyme profiles with its suite of AI tools, Kuano can then predict the best structures with which to target them.The platform has already been validated in three separate disease areas, including bowel cancer and lymphoma.The latest seed funding brings the total investment it has raised to date to £2.8m.13/09/2023
