Discovery Park’s reputation as a centre for science innovation is set to grow even further in the months ahead thanks to a new investment fund located at the Sandwich site.

NCL Innovation, the UK’s leading early stage technology investor, has set up the Discovery Park Technology Investment Fund, which will help cutting edge science and technology firms to get their products or treatments to market.

The new fund is managed by NCL and supported by Kent County Council and the Regional Growth Fund with the companies supported by the scheme given the investment and backing they need to become a commercial success.

Centauri Therapeutics is among the first to be supported by NCL with the investment company supporting a financing round that will help the R&D firm to advance its ground-breaking research.

Other companies to have received support for the new £5m incubation hub, include FutureNova, which launched its FlipPad sterile iPad case last autumn and Coomtech which is working on a new technology for the energy industry.

The latest company to join the new incubator hub was announced last week as Flute Office, which has secured £1.1million of investment to open a new manufacturing plant at Discovery Park to expand its innovative upcycled furniture business. 

Jerry Biggs, CEO of NCL Innovation, said: “This early stage investment fund is a revolutionary new structure where both private and public sources of capital can be deployed, side by side.

“Each chosen investment is surrounded by the talent that it requires – commercial, financial and engineering – to accelerate them swiftly from concept through to a commercial proposition.”

Mike Westby, Chief Executive, Centauri Therapeutics, said: “Support from the Discovery Park Technology Investment Fun has been key to securing the Discovery Park site as our R&D headquarters.

“As pharmaceutical companies have reduced their footprint in the UK, a large pool of highly experienced scientists have become available to Biotech companies such as ours. Discovery Park provides the ideal environment for experienced teams to translate innovation into novel medicines.”

Anna Stone, Leasing Director, Discovery Park, said: “For decades this site set the pace for scientific research and discovery and it is great to see that we are continuing to build on that legacy.

“Discovery Park remains one of the leading business parks for science, technology and enterprise and this kind of collaboration confirms there is a lot more to come.”

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