Essential disease detection advances with £1.1m Nanovery boost

April 13th 2025

Northstar Ventures has backed Newcastle-based Nanovery with investment from two of its funds; £450,000 from the North East Innovation Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund, and £195,000 from the Northstar EIS Growth Fund, alongside £500,000 from fellow investors Smartlink. The business has also been awarded a grant via Innovate UK’s investor partnership programme. Nanovery has developed a versatile platform of analytical tools that are used in the development of a new class of drugs known as RNA therapeutics. These are opening the door to addressing previously untreatable diseases, including several cancers, and as such there is growing interest in the potential of this new class of drug. It is estimated that the rapidly growing RNA therapeutics market will surpass $20bn by 2030, with over 1,000 companies believed to be developing this class of drugs and in the region of 2,000 new candidates in pre-clinical and clinical phases of development.

RNA therapies offer several advantages including the ability to design and develop new drugs (with potentially fewer side effects) more quickly than conventional methods. However, the stability of RNA molecules and the ability to deliver them to the intended site are common hurdles for this type of treatment. It is therefore essential to able to quickly and reliably test the bioavailability of the drug which has previously been a challenge. The existing testing technologies are complex, costly, time consuming and require high technical ability and expensive equipment. And the conventional analysis techniques do not deliver the necessary accuracy or sensitivity for reliable test results.

The Nanovery platform provides the ability to test at very low concentrations in a simple reaction using only standard laboratory equipment delivering reliable results quickly and cost effectively. This advance in testing technology offers the potential for more drugs to reach the clinic more quickly. The advantages of Nanovery’s technology mean that it is very well positioned to become the favoured approach for bioanalysis of this class of drugs. The company has already closed R&D deals with some household names which bodes well for the future.

Alex Buchan, Investment Director, Northstar Ventures, says: “The technology which Nanovery has produced is incredibly promising. It can address real industry issues easily and cheaply in the fast-moving arena of diagnostics and drug development. We have backed Nanovery from very early on and are proud to support them in their work to develop novel therapeutics. Nanovery is one of a number of companies in the North East that are at the cutting edge of the use of synthetic biology to find new solutions to seemingly intractable problems in the development of new patient therapies.”

Jurek Kozyra, CEO, Nanovery, says: “Securing this investment is a significant milestone for Nanovery and positions us to make a real difference in how next generation drugs - specifically ASOs and siRNA - are developed and tested. Nanovery’s technology makes the testing process simpler, quicker, and more reliable. And we couldn’t make it any easier: just add our nanorobots directly to the samples, measure fluorescence, and get results - bam, bam, bam - enabling drug developers to rapidly and reliably perform bioanalysis.

“We’re thrilled by the growing enthusiasm from our investors, which is reflected in the bold strides we’re making to commercialise our technology with leading global industry players, including top pharmaceutical companies. We’re determined to keep accelerating the growth and adoption of our cutting-edge nanotechnology platform, believing it will help bring the most promising, life-changing therapies to patients faster. We are incredibly thankful to all the investors who have supported us on this journey.”