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British Business Bank invests £25m in Alchemab Therapeutics, its largest direct investment in a life sciences company

Press release 09 July 2026

The British Business Bank has invested £25m in Alchemab Therapeutics as part of its Series A extension. This marks its largest investment in a life sciences company to date and demonstrates its commitment to increasing the availability of long-term capital in the life sciences sector.

The Bank is already the most active late-stage investor in UK life sciences, having invested £238m in 22 companies, and is accelerating deployment into scale ups in the sector.

The extension round brings Alchemab’s total Series A investment to £109m, with previous investors including SV Health Investors, RA Capital, DCVC Bio, Eli Lilly, Lightstone Ventures, Ono Venture Investment, and Camford Partners.

Founded in 2019, Alchemab is a clinical-stage biotechnology company that discovers and develops novel antibody therapeutics by identifying naturally occurring protective antibodies in individuals who show resilience to disease. Its approach integrates deep sequencing, advanced AI and lab-based validation to uncover new biological insights and generate first- and best-in-class drug candidates.

Alchemab’s Resiliome platform is built on a unique collection of more than half a billion antibody sequences – the largest single-source proprietary antibody database in the world. The company’s first asset, ATLX-1282 – an antibody therapeutic for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, licensed to Eli Lilly – progressed from initial discovery to clinical entry within three years.

The additional capital will enable the company to accelerate its research, expand its antibody database and advance two additional wholly owned programmes into the clinic.

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

Alchemab sits at the cutting edge of UK scientific capability, integrating deep sequencing and lab-based validation to harness the body's natural defences against disease. This landmark £25m investment demonstrates our commitment to providing the long-term capital necessary for the UK's most innovative biotech firms to advance complex pipelines in the UK.

Business Secretary Peter Kyle said,

Through our modern Industrial Strategy, we’re taking a bolder approach to backing the businesses of the future – investing larger sums in high-growth firms like Alchemab so they can stay, scale and succeed here in the UK.

This investment shows how serious we are about championing our strengths, turning cutting-edge science into growth, and supporting the companies driving our future economy

Dr Carmine Circelli, Senior Investment Director, Life Sciences at British Business Bank said,

Alchemab is yet another example of the UK’s strength in leveraging technology in life sciences. By combining the world's largest proprietary antibody datasets with advanced AI, the company has developed a powerful platform with the potential to unlock new treatments. Our investment will help convert promising results into high value medical discoveries

Jane Osbourn, CEO and Co-Founder of Alchemab said, 

We are delighted that the British Business Bank has recognised the importance of enabling Alchemab to grow and thrive here in the UK. This investment will enable us to further accelerate our pipeline of first-in-class antibody therapeutics for conditions with significant unmet need.

Further Information

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Notes to editors

About 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. In doing so, we help capture the economic value of innovation for the UK and create jobs and prosperity for people across the country.

The British Business Bank’s core programmes support £23bn 1  of finance to almost 64,000 2  smaller businesses.

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.

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.

The transaction described above does not constitute or imply any endorsement, warranty or recommendation by the UK government, the British Business Bank plc, its subsidiaries or any other party in respect of Alchemab Therapeutics or its products or services.

About Alchemab Therapeutics

Founded in 2019, Alchemab is a clinical-stage biotechnology company uncovering the immune secrets of disease-resilient individuals to discover and develop novel therapeutics. The company’s Resiliome platform integrates the world's largest antibody database derived from disease-resilient individuals with advanced AI and lab validation to identify and characterise the antibodies that protect them. By pioneering this approach, Alchemab has generated a broad pipeline of first- and best-in-class assets for hard-to-treat diseases.

Find out more at alchemab.com.

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