TRICAPITAL led the investment round, succeeding initial seed round leader Gabriel Investments, alongside Eos Advisory, SIS Ventures, Gabriel, Alba Equity, and Scottish Enterprise.

CEO and founder Ishani Malhotra says Carcinotech, which is based at the Roslin Innovation Centre on the outskirts of Edinburgh and already has partnerships in place with industry organisations like Cancer Research UK, global pharma groups and a major US-based clinical research organisation (CRO), will be looking to extend its commercial partnerships in Europe and North America over the next twelve months. 

She said: “Our next phase of growth will involve building international partnerships, growing the team, and appointing a scientific advisory committee to support the work of the main board.

“Carcinotech’s in vitro models are very close to clinical biopsy samples because we use patient-specific cells and isolated cells from biopsies, which allow us to develop models representing cancer heterogeneity.”

Moray Martin, chairman and managing partner of The TRICAPITAL Syndicate LLP, added: “Carcinotech is one of the most exciting early-stage companies to come out of the Scottish life sciences sector in recent times. We can already see traction and momentum, and look forward to actively supporting Ishani and her team as they continue to scale.”

Ana Stewart, partner, Eos Advisory, commented: “Ishani and her team have developed pioneering oncology biotechnology with the potential to make a significant impact in discovery, screening, and pre-clinical testing. It is exactly the kind of high impact company that Eos aims to support.”

Siobhan Moore, investment manager, SIS Ventures, added: “Carcinotech is a truly innovative company whose mission is to provide accessible, personalised medicine testing to individuals suffering from cancer, ultimately improving their chance of survival. Based in Scotland but with global ambitions, Carcinotech aligns perfectly with our aim of supporting disruptive businesses with high growth and impact potential. We look forward to working with Ishani and her team through this next stage of the journey, alongside our co-investors.”

Albert Nicholl, chairman, Carcinotech, said: “Scotland has a world renowned track record in oncology R&D, and it’s great to see Carcinotech making an impression in international markets. Ishani and her team are now positioned to step up activity in Europe and North America, and it’s great for the company to be doing that with such a supportive group of investors.”

Anderson Strathern and Thorntons acted for the investors on the investment round, while MBM Commercial acted for Carcinotech.