Select audience

Choose the option that best describes your role.

Search British Business Bank
Popular Search placeholder

British Business Bank invests $20m in Redx Pharma, supporting life sciences cluster in the North West

Press release 27 August 2026

The British Business Bank has invested $20m in Redx Pharma Ltd, a clinical-stage UK biotechnology company. The investment will accelerate the company’s continued growth in the UK and help anchor its world-class medical research in one of the UK’s leading life sciences ecosystems near Manchester.

Founded in 2010 and previously based in Liverpool, Redx is focused on developing novel small-molecule targeted medicines for fibrotic diseases. It is headquartered in Alderley Park, Cheshire, the UK's largest single-site life sciences campus and a hub for scientific research in North West England.  

This financing will enable Redx to progress its lead asset, RXC008, a GI-restricted pan-ROCK inhibitor for fibrostenotic Crohn's disease, into a Phase 2 clinical study, addressing a significant medical need for which there are currently no approved therapies. It will also support the company’s continued residence at the Alderley Park site, aiding future research and development, and retaining high-skilled jobs in the region.  

The investment reflects the Bank’s role in ensuring high-growth life sciences companies across the UK can access the capital they need to scale, strengthening one of the UK’s most internationally competitive sectors.  

The Series A financing round was led by Abingworth alongside existing major shareholder Redmile.

Charlotte Lawrence, Managing Director and Head of Direct Equity at the British Business Bank said

Redx is an example of the pioneering science emerging from North West England. With RXC008, the company has the potential to develop an entirely new category of treatment for a patient population that today has limited options. This investment will support Redx as it advances a potentially transformative treatment, while helping ensure that the company’s innovation, talent and intellectual property remain rooted in the UK.

Lisa Anson, Chief Executive Officer at Redx Pharma plc said:

We are thrilled to have completed this Series A financing and to welcome new investors including Abingworth and British Business Bank as shareholders and appreciate the continued strong support from Redmile. This financing is an important catalyst for the Company and will allow us to commence our Phase 2 program for our lead asset, RXC008, for patients suffering with fibrostenotic Crohn’s disease, enabling us to progress the next phase of the Company’s growth.

The financing round was completed prior to the company's reverse merger agreement with Skye Bioscience, Inc.

Further Information

If you are a journalist and have a media enquiry, please contact [email protected].

Notes to editors

About the British Business Bank  

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive economic growth by helping smaller businesses get the finance they need to start, scale and stay in the UK. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.

In 2025/26 1 , the Bank supported UK smaller businesses to access £9.4bn of finance, made up of £1.3bn of public funding, £4.3bn of private capital crowded in by the Bank and £3.7bn of lending the Bank guaranteed. The funding benefited 38,000 UK businesses, including around 30,000 businesses the Bank had not previously helped to fund.

British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. It is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. With the exception of BBB Investment Services Limited they are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority or the Financial Conduct Authority. BBB Investment Services Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at british-business-bank.co.uk.

The Patient Capital Funds programme is operated by British Patient Capital Limited, a wholly owned commercial subsidiary of British Business Bank plc.

British Patient Capital Limited is registered in England and Wales with company number 11271076, and registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. British Patient Capital makes commitments and invests on its own behalf and on behalf of third-party investors whose investments British Patient Capital manages.

About Redx Pharma Ltd

Redx Pharma is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the development of novel, small molecule, targeted medicines for the treatment of fibrotic disease, developing therapeutic treatment options in areas of high unmet need. The company has a leading position in therapies targeting the ROCK pathway and the Company’s lead asset RXC008, a GI-restricted pan-ROCK inhibitor for the treatment of fibrostenotic Crohn's disease is commencing a Phase 2 clinical study during the second half of 2026. The company’s portfolio also includes zelasudil (RXC007), a next-generation selective ROCK2 inhibitor, with potential in interstitial lung diseases and multiple other fibrotic indications such as MASH and cancer-associated fibrosis, having completed a successful signal searching Phase 2 clinical programme in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients. Additionally, the Company is advancing a novel Discoidin Domain Receptor (DDR) program, targeting chronic kidney disease, through preclinical studies.

Quick links

Latest news