Mission Therapeutics was established in 2011 to commercialize expert research into the ubiquitin pathway to treat cancers and other unmet medical needs.
The company built a platform to discover and develop small molecule drugs that selectively target deubiquitylating (DUBs) enzymes for the treatment of cancer, neurodegenerative and other diseases.
The new financing will allow Mission to maximize the potential of its DUB platform and advance a series of small molecule drug candidates targeting specific DUBs into early clinical development.
Imperial Innovations Businesses and new investor Woodford Patient Capital Trust jointly led the round. Existing shareholders Sofinnova Partners, SR One, Roche Venture Fund and Pfizer Venture Investments also contributed.
Mission Therapeutics CEO Anker Lundemose said: "This is strong endorsement of our unique discovery platform and will enable us to maximize the potential of multiple lead compounds for diverse therapeutic indications.
"2016 will see us progress our advanced programs into regulatory preclinical development and deepen our pipeline, from a position of increased financial strength."
The company has so far secured £27m in venture capital from the existing investors.
Last September, Innovate UK awarded a £1.9m grant to Mission Therapeutics to discover preclinical DUB inhibitors.
DUBs are involved in several cellular processes such as DNA damage and cell proliferation.
Image: The £60m financing will allow Mission Therapeutics to maximize the potential of its DUB platform. Photo: courtesy of MISSION Therapeutics.