News archive 2008

New seed fund manager for College

18 Nov 2008, PR 241/08

NESTA, the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts, has been appointed as the new fund manager of the Kinetique Biomedical Seed Fund, a University Challenge Seed Fund providing start-up funding for the development and strategic management of spin-out companies from King’s and Queen Mary.

This is its first third party fund management contract for NESTA.

The Kinetique Fund invests in technologies relating to the biomedical sciences - this includes the development of therapeutics, drug-delivery systems, diagnostics, devices, biomaterials and IT related to healthcare.

Established in 1999, the Fund has made many significant investments in spin-out companies from King’s including Theragenetics, and OSspray Limited, and Neurotex from Queen Mary, University of London.

Potential

Alison Campbell, MD of King’s College London Business Ltd said: ‘We look forward to working with NESTA to allow our current portfolio to reach its potential as well as providing a solid base for funding future ideas emerging from King’s College London’s research base.’

David Hunter, Managing Director of NESTA Investments said: ‘NESTA has gained a wealth of experience and expertise in developing early-stage companies in this sector. With an existing portfolio of 48 companies and investments in 5 early-stage focused funds, NESTA has the unique insight, knowledge and skills to lead the management of this fund.

‘While NESTA has established itself as a leading investor in start-up companies, this is the first time NESTA will be an FSA regulated fund manager. This move strengthens the role and reputation of the organisation so as to become a strategic results driven investment fund manager.’

NESTA’s appointment as fund manager will ensure the on-going management of the existing companies, and paves the way for closer working relationships between NESTA and the two universities.

Notes to editors

King’s College London
King’s College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher 2008) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King’s has 19,700 students from more than 150 countries, and 5,400 employees. King’s has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. The College is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of approximately £450 million. An investment of £500 million has been made in the redevelopment of its estate.

King’s has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, social sciences, the health sciences, natural sciences and engineering, and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres – a total unsurpassed by any other university.

NESTA
NESTA is the National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts. Its mission is to transform the UK’s capacity for innovation. NESTA Investments has the largest portfolios of early-stage businesses in the country and is a leading authority on how to grow new ideas. www.nesta.org.uk 

Further information
Melanie Gardner, Senior Public Relations Officer,
Public Relations Department, King’s College London.
Tel: 020 7848 3073; email melanie.gardner@kcl.ac.uk

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This information is provided by the Public Relations Department
Tel: 020-7848 3202  Fax: 020-7848 3739  Email: pr@kcl.ac.uk