Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC), the venture capital investor focused on deeptech and life sciences businesses in the Cambridge ecosystem, has invested in Mosaic Therapeutics $28m Series A funding round.

Mosaic Therapeutics is an oncology therapeutics company dedicated to resolving cancer’s complexity to power new treatments for patients. The investment will be used to further advance Mosaic’s pipeline of targeted oncology therapies for biomarker-stratified populations, progressing its lead programmes through preclinical development to IND-enabling studies. The funds will also support recruitment efforts, building the Company’s senior leadership, experimental biology, and computational teams. The investment in this round was raised by Cambridge Innovation Capital and Syncona Investment Management, Ltd.

Mosaic’s use of advanced computational methods, while combining mining of large datasets with experimental approaches to identify and develop novel targeted therapies, completely reinvents the traditional approach to target and drug discovery. The Company’s bespoke relationship with the Wellcome Sanger Institute provides it unique access to deep scientific expertise, infrastructure, and biological assets.

Mosaic’s proprietary platform applies research from co-founder Dr Mathew Garnett’s Translational Cancer Genomics Laboratory at the Wellcome Sanger Institute. Dr Garnett is a Senior Group Leader at Sanger with over 20 years’ experience in genomics and cancer therapeutics, with past achievements including co-discovery of BRAF mutations in cancer and Werner Syndrome helicase as a target in MSI tumours.

Brian Gladsden, CEO, Mosaic Therapeutics, commented:

“I believe that Mosaic is ideally positioned to resolve the complexity of cancer, to discover and develop targeted therapies that address areas of high unmet need. The people, platform, connection to a world-leading genomics research institute, and strong investor partnerships are truly best in class. To receive funding from such high calibre investors is testament to the potential of Mosaic’s technology and multidisciplinary team, as well as the exceptional support provided by the Wellcome Sanger Institute.”

Anne Horgan, Partner at Cambridge Innovation Capital and Director of Mosaic, said:

“We are delighted to invest in Mosaic Therapeutics and its outstanding founders, backing our third spin out from the Wellcome Sanger Institute. We also welcome Brian, a seasoned oncology executive, to the team. Mosaic’s unique combination of advanced data science, large dataset mining and experimental approaches has the capability to identify and develop novel targeted therapies for the patient groups most likely to respond to these treatments. Cambridge (UK) is a globally important hub for biotechnology and life sciences, and Mosaic is a great example of innovation in the ecosystem.”

Mosaic is the most recent spin-out company from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, a world leader in genome research, with notable achievements including being the single largest contributor to the Human Genome Project, co-founding the International Cancer Genome Consortium, and identifying specific BRAF mutations that underpinned a new class of transformational targeted cancer therapeutics.