Select audience

Choose the option that best describes your role.

Search British Business Bank
Popular Search placeholder

British Business Bank invests £15m in biotech spinout T-Therapeutics

Press release 05 November 2026

The British Business Bank has invested £15m in T-Therapeutics 1 , a University of Cambridge spinout, as part of its $133 million Series B financing round.

Founded in 2022, T-Therapeutics is developing a new generation of T cell engager therapies designed to help the body’s immune system better recognise and target disease. The company harnesses T cell biology to create safe and effective treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases where treatment options remain limited and patient need remains high.

This investment builds on the Bank’s wider support for the UK’s high potential life sciences companies, a priority sector under the Government's Industrial Strategy. The Bank actively targets university spinouts due to quality of UK university research and the need for more capital to help companies commercialise and scale. Half of the Bank’s Direct Equity portfolio have formed as university spinouts and the Bank’s equity programmes supported one in every five (20%) academic spinout deals between 2023 and 2025.

The financing round was led by Advent Life Sciences, marking the British Business Bank's third co-investment alongside the firm and following shortly after the Bank announced £135m in commitments to Advent Life Sciences Fund IV and Advent Life Sciences Growth Fund. The round also includes capital from new investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, inc., Samsara BioCapital, M-Ventures and Eli Lilly and Company, alongside existing major shareholders Sofinnova Partners, F-Prime, Digitalis Ventures, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Sanofi Ventures, Tencent and BGF.

The financing will support entry into the clinic and the generation of clinical proof-of-concept data for T-Therapeutics' two lead programmes. Both are powered by the company's proprietary OpTiMus® platform, which enables access to previously undruggable targets. The programmes have the potential to address multiple indications and to meaningfully improve patient outcomes where clinical unmet need remains.

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

  • 1

    The British Business Bank has an existing indirect investment in T-Therapeutics through its investment in Cambridge Innovation Capital Fund II (CIC II), which currently holds a stake in the company.

T-Therapeutics’ optimally engineered bispecific platform has created a pipeline of drug candidates that could transform treatment for cancer and autoimmune diseases. It’s a standout example of how UK university research can become a global leader. We are proud to support the company as it moves to clinical trials, a major milestone on the path to reaching patients.

Theodora Harold, Chief Executive Officer of T-Therapeutics, said:

This financing is a key step in our transition to a clinical-stage company, enabling us to accelerate the development of two oncology and immunology programmes with pan-indication, blockbuster potential, underpinned by a platform that reaches targets long considered undruggable. The further strengthening of our team with the appointment of Dr. Kirsty Crame, and the proceeds from this raise, position us well for rapid execution of those programmes and the delivery of important clinical proof-of-concept data. My thanks to our new and longstanding investors, whose confidence in our science enables a next generation of T cell engager therapeutics.

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 2 , 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 above transaction 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 T-Therapeutics

T-Therapeutics is a next-generation T cell receptor (TCR) T cell engager (TCE) company developing novel therapeutics. The Company harnesses T cell biology to create safe and effective treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. The Company is developing a pipeline of first-in-class, pan-indication drugs that are intended to become transformative medicines, reshaping the clinical landscape for patients.

The Company is backed by expert, specialist healthcare investors Sofinnova Partners, F-Prime, Digitalis Ventures, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Sanofi Ventures, University of Cambridge Venture Fund, Tencent, BGF, Advent Life Sciences, British Business Bank, JJDC, Samsara BioCapital, M-Ventures, and Lilly.

Quick links

Latest news