Macomics, which is a University of Edinburgh spin-out, will use the proceeds of this fundraising round to develop novel, first-in-class immunotherapies designed to modulate macrophages, increasing the body’s immune defence against tumours.

Macomics’ approach is based on leading academic research around macrophage biology, particularly in cancer, from the laboratory of Professor Jeffrey Pollard, director of the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh, working with co-founder Dr Luca Cassetta.

In parallel with the financing, Macomics has appointed biotechnology industry experts Dr Robert Haigh and Dr Jane Dancer as CEO and Non-Executive Director respectively. Dr Robert Haigh has worked extensively in R&D in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry, with roles at Ferring and Boehringer Ingelheim, where he was involved in oncology research.

 Dr Haigh is also the Executive Chairman of Ikarovec, an ophthalmology-focused gene therapy company. Dr Jane Dancer is a business development expert with over 30 years’ experience in the life science industry across biotech, pharma and agrochemicals. She was formerly Chief Business Officer at F-star, VP Business Development at Cellzome and Director, Business Development at Cambridge Antibody Technology Ltd.

Dr Robert Haigh, CEO of Macomics, said: “With its seed financing round providing the funding to develop its tumour-associated macrophage target discovery platform and pipeline, this is an exciting time to be joining Macomics. I’d like to thank Epidarex, the Scottish Investment Bank and the University of Edinburgh for their support and look forward to working with them as we progress Macomics to provide novel, first-in-class drugs for cancer.”

Kerry Sharp, director, Scottish Investment Bank, added: “This is an extremely exciting immuno-oncology spin-out based on outstanding academic research. We are thrilled to support it alongside Epidarex Capital.”