Centauri Therapeutics, an immunotherapy company founded by Animatrix Founders LLP and focused on the treatment of infectious diseases, announced the close of its £24 million GBP (c. 32 million USD) Series A investment round. The funds will support the continued advancement of the company’s antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research and development, using the Alphamer platform to identify and progress novel antibacterial candidates through first-in-human trials, for difficult-to-treat infections.

Centauri secured equity funding from Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Evotec SE, and Novo Holdings REPAIR Impact Fund. Existing investors include founding investor Animatrix Founders LLP (via its company LAK Holdings LLP), as well as Kent Life Science LLP and Wren Capital.

Centauri is leveraging the Alphamer technology to introduce an innovative drug mechanism that recruits and directs pre-existing antibodies specifically to pathogens, engaging both innate and adaptive immunity to elicit an immune response that clears the infection. The continual emergence of AMR bacteria is resulting in increasingly difficult-to-treat infections, with an estimated 4.95 million global deaths associated with bacterial AMR in 2019. New modalities that can target these drug-resistant strains more effectively are urgently needed, and the Alphamer technology could help to broaden the anti-infective arsenal to reduce the global impact and improve patient outcomes.

Dr Mike Westby, Chief Scientific Officer, Centauri Therapeutics, commented: “This investment round is testament to the potential of the Alphamer technology and the progress made to date. The funding will underpin the progression of our AMR efforts, enabling us to identify novel antibacterial candidates and deliver improved treatments for life-threatening infections to the clinic. We will continue to engage with high-calibre investors and grow our team to accelerate these capabilities further.”

Dr Johannes Zanzinger, Investment Director at Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Karen Lackey, Global Head of Integrated Drug Discovery at Evotec SE, and Dr Camilla Petrycer, Principal, Novo Holdings REPAIR Impact Fund, join Centauri’s Board of Directors.