Catapult Ventures announces investment in Panthera Biopartners
29 September 2020 - Manchester, UK. Panthera Biopartners (Panthera) has completed a Series A funding round from Gresham House Ventures and the GM&C Life Sciences Fund, managed by Catapult Ventures. Panthera is an independent site management organisation (SMO) that finds patients and runs clinical trials on behalf of CROs and pharma companies across multiple therapeutic areas. The capital raised will enable Panthera to further build out its network of clinical trial sites across the UK and overseas and increase its team of clinical trial experts in serving both pharma and patients.
Panthera Chairman Professor John Lyon commented: “I am delighted to welcome Gresham and Catapult, two very reputable and respected investment houses, as shareholders. Despite the challenges faced with Covid, we have built Panthera into a significant player with dedicated sites across the UK in Preston, Manchester and London. We have also completed a breakthrough partnership agreement with Rutherford Cancer Centres, drawing patients from all over the UK through more than 170 referring oncologists.”
The upcoming months will see Panthera extend its UK site network by opening a new clinic in Glasgow, expanding existing locations to service higher patient volumes and take forward alliance partnerships across Europe.
The series A funding will ensure Panthera has the financial backing to provide pharmaceutical clients and patients with an exemplar service, which is the vision of both founders.
Panthera, which is headquartered in Preston, has one of the strongest management teams of any site management organisation. The company was founded by Chairman and Chief Financial Officer Prof John Lyon, ex-Global Vice President of Covance, and Medical Director Dr Ian Smith, who founded Synexus. Panthera CEO, Stuart Young, previously managed the UK division of Synexus, while Panthera’s Chief Commercial Officer, Jane Restorick, was previously Chief Operating Officer and Chief Patient Officer of Synexus.
