Avlar BioVentures
VC Fund
Madingley, United Kingdom
Avlar BioVentures is a VC fund in Madingley focused on Biotechnology and Health Care. Avlar was founded in 1999 by Alan Goodman and Daniel Roach and manages Avlar Fund II (£43m) and the First Cambridge Gateway Fund (£35m). Avlar has invested in eighteen companies across a range of sub-sectors of the bioscience industries. Ten are still private, two have been merged, three have been bought by public companies, two have been sold forcash and two listed on the public markets. Prior to the formation of Avlar Messrs Roach and Goodman co-founded or seed financed nine life science companies. Seven of these were listed on recognized Stock Exchanges producing highly profitable realizations. These included Acambis, Chiroscience, Core, Salix and Oxford Biomedica.
- Total investments:
- 15
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 13%
- Last fund:
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Avlar BioVentures invests in
Stages Avlar BioVentures invests in
Countries Avlar BioVentures invests in
Round sizes
Round size
- Series A
- $2.6M–$7.3M
- Series B
- $3.6M–$22M
Investment Focus
Industry
- Biotechnology 6 (40%)
- Health Care 4 (27%)
- Medical 3 (20%)
- Therapeutics 2 (13%)
- Pharmaceutical 2 (13%)
Stage
- Funding Round 5 (33%)
- Series A 4 (27%)
- Series B 2 (13%)
- Series D 2 (13%)
- Seed 1 (7%)
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crescendo Biologics is a new Cambridge-based company whose vision is to deliver next-generation antibody therapeutics based on novel class-leading platforms.The focus of the company is on developing platforms that will address key issues in generating high-affinity, soluble, human VH antibody fragments. These are the smallest fragments thatretain antibody binding, and have many desirable properties as potential therapeutics. Crescendo will then utilise these platforms for product development of in-house targets or in partnership with other companies. | $7.3M / Series A / Jan 20, 2010 | ||
| Crescendo Biologics is a new Cambridge-based company whose vision is to deliver next-generation antibody therapeutics based on novel class-leading platforms.The focus of the company is on developing platforms that will address key issues in generating high-affinity, soluble, human VH antibody fragments. These are the smallest fragments thatretain antibody binding, and have many desirable properties as potential therapeutics. Crescendo will then utilise these platforms for product development of in-house targets or in partnership with other companies. | $5.9M / Seed / Oct 12, 2009 | ||
| CellCentric’s primary programme targets a deubiquitinase (DUB) enzyme which is strongly associated with prostate cancer, a leading cause of mortality among men. The target modulates the androgen receptor pathway and can potentially combat the multiple resistance mechanisms seen with recently approved prostate cancer drugs such Xtandi and Zytiga.The programme also has potential clinical utility in non-small cell lung, breast and colon cancer. | $1.6M / Jul 18, 2006 | ||
| Takeda Cambridge Limited (TCB) and its subsidiary TSP, have established world-class target identification and validation capabilities. Together they have developed a promising pipeline of novel drug discovery targets and compounds in key areas of unmet medical need such as CNS disorders, chronic pain and urology indications, endocrinology andmetabolic-related diseases. | $13M / Series D / Jul 07, 2006 | ||
| NXVISION is located in Dunfermline, Scotland and was founded in August 2006 as Inxstor Ltd, to take advantage of its unique Placeshifting IP. NXVision, in a short time, has established itself as a leading supplier of STB applications, including end-to-end Place-Shifting and Sideloading solutions for the secure delivery of video content. | $688K / Jan 01, 2006 | ||
| Intercytex Group plc, a development stage biotechnology company, engages in the research, development, and commercialization of cell-based therapies for the repair and regeneration of skin and hair. The company, using its integrated cell technology platform, develops living, human cell-based products. Its product programs in development includeVAVELTA, a facial rejuvenation and skin damage repair product, which completed Phase II trials; SHEF-1-Stem Cell Line, which would develop a cure for AMD, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly; ICX-TRC, a hair regeneration product that completed Phase II trials; and ICX-SKN, a skin graft replacement for burns and acute wounds, which completed Phase I trial. The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom. | $15.7M / Series D / Aug 01, 2005 | ||
| Amura is a structure-based drug discovery business specialising in diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, bone metastasis, autoimmunity, chronic pain and malaria. Amura has a proprietary technology platform (AMcoreâ„¢) that provides a turnkey solution for the discovery of small-molecule inhibitors against cysteine peptidases (e.g. cathepsinenzymes); which are commercially attractive therapeutic targets. Amura compounds possess highly desirable drug-like properties; thereby facilitating the rapid and innovative discovery of orally active pharmaceutical ingredients across several disease areas. Amura has assembled advanced pre-clinical packages for its programmes demonstrating efficacy in disease-related animal models as well as safety pharmacology profiling. Amura intends to license out the programmes. Amura's research and development activities are based at the Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom. | $1.8M / May 01, 2005 | ||
| CellCentric’s primary programme targets a deubiquitinase (DUB) enzyme which is strongly associated with prostate cancer, a leading cause of mortality among men. The target modulates the androgen receptor pathway and can potentially combat the multiple resistance mechanisms seen with recently approved prostate cancer drugs such Xtandi and Zytiga.The programme also has potential clinical utility in non-small cell lung, breast and colon cancer. | $327K / Apr 07, 2005 | ||
| Takeda Cambridge Limited (TCB) and its subsidiary TSP, have established world-class target identification and validation capabilities. Together they have developed a promising pipeline of novel drug discovery targets and compounds in key areas of unmet medical need such as CNS disorders, chronic pain and urology indications, endocrinology andmetabolic-related diseases. | $9.4M / Jan 07, 2005 | ||
| Purely Proteins commercial database model for delivering proteomatics information to clients has already been exemplified through 3 non-exclusive licences of database modules to biotech and pharma partners.Purely Proteins Protein Purification Partnerships are backed by the experience of previous high-value relationships between the Institute ofBiotechnology, University of Cambridge and major pharmaceutical companies. | $3.6M / Series B / Dec 01, 2004 | ||
| See all 15 investments → | |||
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FAQ
What does Avlar BioVentures invest in?
Avlar BioVentures invests primarily in Biotechnology, Health Care and Medical startups, most often at Funding Round and Series A stage. Most of the 15 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United Kingdom. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
What round sizes does Avlar BioVentures invest in?
Avlar BioVentures typically joins rounds of $2.6M–$7.3M at Series A and $3.6M–$22M at Series B. These are whole funding-round sizes, not Avlar BioVentures's own check, which is rarely disclosed: the 10th–90th percentile of the confirmed public funding rounds Avlar BioVentures took part in.
When did Avlar BioVentures last invest?
The most recent investment recorded for Avlar BioVentures closed in Jan 2010. Shizune tracks 15 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.
Is Shizune's investor data accurate?
Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Oct 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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