GlaxoSmithKline invests in British biotech startup
PHARMACEUTICAL giant GlaxoSmithKline has bought a minority stake in UK biotech firm Autifony Therapeutics, through its subsidiary Glaxo Group.
Glaxo said this morning it would put £1.25m into Autifony – which develops treatments for tinnitus sufferers – in return for a 25.4 per cent stake in the company.
Glaxo Group has raised a total of around £10m through the commitment from GSK and from investors Imperial Innovations and SV Life Sciences.
Charles Large, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Autifony, said: “Autifony represents an important opportunity to bring together our drug-discovery experience with the expertise of academic groups in this field, in particular the Ear Institute. Autifony’s goal will be to find effective new medicines that can reduce the burden of suffering for this poorly served patient group.”