Mercia investee Tozaro raises £6m in funding round

(Sharecast News) - Mercia Asset Management said on Monday that its portfolio company Tozaro had raised �6m in a funding round led by Mercia to support the commercialisation of its 'Smart Polymer' technology.

The AIM-traded, regionally focused private capital asset manager, which oversees approximately �2bn of assets under management, said the round comprised a �1.3m direct investment from Mercia alongside additional capital from its third-party managed funds and existing co-investors.

Following completion of the raise, Mercia holds a fully diluted 11.9% direct stake in Tozaro.

The UK-based biotech planned to use the new funding to enhance production of viral vectors used in advanced cell and gene therapies.

It said the vectors were critical to manufacturing cell and gene therapy treatments, an area where current production methods faced challenges around efficiency, scalability and cost.

"There are over 70 CGT products currently on the market with over 3,400 more in development within a segment growing rapidly, valued at over $10bn today and forecast to grow to over $100bn by 2034," said chief executive Mark Payton.

"Growth, however, in this exciting new generation of biological therapeutics is being held back by the high cost of their production.

"Tozaro is developing an approach that will significantly reduce this cost without shouldering the risk of clinical development of the therapeutic itself.

"Tozaro has made significant commercial progress during the past year, moving from platform development into meaningful engagement with downstream processing partners and potential customers."

At 1255 GMT, shares in Mercia Asset Management were down 1.64% at 29.01p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.