The Development Bank of Wales has led a £1.75 million round in a biotech company currently working on demonstrating a new type of drug to treat cardiovascular disease.
Argonaute RNA Ltd is a biotech business developing gene-targeting drugs to treat a rare form of heart disease called severe familial hypercholesterolaemia (or FH). It has long-term plans to use similar drugs to tackle common conditions.
According to the British Heart Foundation, around 270,000 people in the UK suffer with FH. It can be severe from childhood and, if left untreated, the very high cholesterol levels caused by FH can drastically reduce life expectancy by an accelerated furring up of the arteries, increasing risk of heart attacks and strokes, even in children or young adults.
Current treatment involves regular hospital visits to have fat mechanically filtered from the blood. If successful, the new drug will drastically reduce the need for more invasive treatments.
Argonaute is making a type of drug to treat FH, known as an oligonucleotide, which use short strands of RNA and DNA. This is a next-generation therapeutic treatment, identified by the UK government as having the potential to treat currently “undruggable” diseases.
Argonaute has now moved its headquarters to Cardiff, partly to be closer to CatSci, its manufacturing partner. The city is fast becoming the UK’s hotspot for private sector investment in oligonucleotide manufacturing, with manufacturer Cytiva opening a new factory and lab complex in Cardiff in 2022.
CatSci is a fast-growing local success story which specialises in the complex chemistry required in drug development and built its own oligonucleotide synthesis facility at its base on the Cardiff Capital Business Park in 2023. CatSci also benefited from funding from the Development Bank of Wales earlier in its history, including a £150,000 investment from the Wales Business Fund in 2019.
The Development Bank supported the investment round into Argonaute with £750,000 in equity from the Wales Flexible Investment Fund, with a further £1m in investment coming from partners including Empirical Ventures, The Fink Family Office and Bristol Private Equity Club.
Tom Davies, Assistant Investment Executive at the Development Bank of Wales, said: “The new drugs being trialled by Argonaute show amazing potential – not just in terms of treating a rare inherited condition, but also more generally to target a wider range of cardiovascular conditions.”
“The specialist support of Empirical Ventures as co-investors means that the company is well-positioned to take its lead drug through to clinical trials and attract further funding from industry-leading investors. We’re glad that our confidence in the business was able to leverage the support of further investors from across the UK.”
Johnathan Matlock, founder of Empirical Ventures, said: “The application of multi-gene silencing therapies shows huge potential in a range of indications and we believe Argonaute has the perfect platform to create assets that can enter the clinic in cardiovascular disease.”
Mike Khan, CEO at Argonaute, said: “We are grateful for the support of the Development Bank and excited to be part of what is happening in the oligonucleotide field in Cardiff. Our goal is to take our lead drug into trials and to show what a massive difference we can make to the lives of patients, including those suffering from severe FH here in Wales.”
