Tozaro, a "Smart Polymer" technology developer for cell and gene therapy manufacturing, has raised £6 million in funding led by Mercia Ventures. The investment was made from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II and Mercia’s own funds, alongside other existing investors. The funding will enable it to form new commercial partnerships and pursue its mission to open up access to gene therapies.
Gene therapies offer treatment options for some cancers and genetic diseases but remain limited by high production costs. CAR-T therapies can cost over £370,000 per patient, while some gene therapies for rare diseases can exceed £1 million per patient. Tozaro’s Smart Polymer platform provides a more cost-effective method of manufacturing viral vectors used to deliver modified genes into cells.
Its technology uses molecular modelling and machine learning and has already been tested by manufacturing companies. It is being developed for lentiviral vectors used in CAR-T treatments and for AAV vectors used in other gene therapies, while discussions are ongoing with global manufacturers.
There are over 70 cell and gene therapy products on the market, with more than 3,400 in development. The market is valued at over $10 billion and forecast to grow to over $100 billion by 2034. Mercia first invested in Tozaro, previously known as MIP Discovery, in 2015. The latest funding brings the total raised by it to £23.7 million.
