M&G Investments has led a $50 million Series C funding round for bit.bio, a Cambridge-based biotechnology company developing human cell programming technology to improve the speed and predictability of drug discovery and safety testing.
The new capital will be used to accelerate product development and customer access, expand global operations, strengthen manufacturing capacity, and build large datasets intended to support AI model training. bit.bio also said it plans to expand further into toxicology, positioning its human cell products as an alternative to legacy approaches that rely heavily on animal testing.
bit.bio’s ioCells human cell products are used by pharmaceutical and biotech companies as well as academic institutions for research, drug discovery and toxicology. The company says its platform supports the shift toward New Approach Methodologies (NAMs), which rely on advanced cell-based systems and computational models designed to generate more human-relevant results than traditional animal models.
M&G said the investment was made through its Crossover strategy within its public equity business, on behalf of M&G Life’s £130 billion With Profits Fund and its 4.5 million UK policyholders. The firm described the investment as patient growth equity intended to support high-quality private companies as they scale, with a pathway toward public markets over time.
Alongside the financing, bit.bio announced that Lord David Prior will join the company as an independent director and board chair. Prior has held several senior roles across the UK health and life sciences ecosystem, including leading positions within the NHS and government.
Founded as a spinout from the University of Cambridge in 2016, bit.bio says it has raised more than $200 million to date from investors including ARCH Venture Partners, BlueYard Capital, Charles River Laboratories, Foresite Capital, M&G, Milky Way, National Resilience and Tencent. The company’s platform combines an AI-enabled discovery approach to identify transcription factor combinations with its opti-ox technology, which it says enables consistent conversion of iPSCs into specific cell types at scale.
KEY QUOTES
“By providing reliable human cells for research and safety testing, we’re helping to accelerate drug development and build a world class life sciences business in the UK. Our technology reduces reliance on animal testing while improving the relevance and accuracy of pre-clinical research. With fresh backing from M&G and our wider investor base, we can accelerate development, from in silico model training through our most established in vitro discovery models and towards safety testing.”
Przemek Obloj, Chief Executive, bit.bio
“The investment of patient capital into a fast-growing private UK company, spun out from the University of Cambridge, marks a major vote of confidence in innovation and the future of drug development in the UK. bit.bio’s platform makes cell programming reliable, scalable, and commercially ready in a rapidly evolving field. As a long-term investor, M&G is committed to backing the next generation of UK businesses and driving economic progress. With a growing global footprint, bit.bio is a UK success story poised for international growth.”
Cornel Chiriac, Investment Director, Crossover, M&G Investments
“bit.bio’s technology is world class and the opportunity is now converting that advantage into sustained commercial performance. I look forward to supporting the team as it expands its customer reach and becomes a key partner for pharmaceutical, biotech and research organisations worldwide.”
David Prior, Incoming Board Chair, bit.bio
