EPIDAREX CAPITAL ANNOUNCES FIRST CLOSE OF FUND IV, SECURING $145 MILLION TO BUILD NEXT WAVE OF LIFE SCIENCE START-UPS

EPIDAREX CAPITAL ANNOUNCES FIRST CLOSE OF FUND IV, SECURING $145 MILLION TO BUILD NEXT WAVE OF LIFE SCIENCE START-UPS

• New Fund will target company creation and early-stage investing across the UK and the US
• Fund backed by new and existing blue chip international investors as Epidarex continues to scale its transatlantic life sciences platform
• Designed to translate innovative research into the next generation of life science companies
  
  

Edinburgh, UK and Bethesda, MD, USA, 27 January 2026 - Epidarex Capital (“Epidarex”), a transatlantic life science venture firm, today announces the first close of Epidarex Capital IV, LP, securing more than $145 million in commitments to build therapeutics and medical device companies.

The Fund’s initial investors include the British Business Bank, Strathclyde Pension Fund, the Scottish National Investment Bank, as well as leading family offices, corporates and other international investors.

The Fund will invest in high-quality early-stage healthcare innovation based on breakthrough science in the UK and the US, offering new company-building opportunities for top researchers and entrepreneurs.

Epidarex’s transatlantic team builds healthcare companies that address major unmet disease needs, including in oncology, cardiometabolic, autoimmune, and neurological conditions, sourcing research from established and emerging research hubs across the UK and US. Epidarex’s strategy is to lead early-stage financings, bridging the equity funding gap to build globally leading companies at scale. The firm partners with top scientists and entrepreneurs and takes an active role in building high-performance leadership teams, shaping strategy and helping companies progress through key value inflection points. Epidarex Capital IV, LP is expected to invest in up to 15 companies.

Sinclair Dunlop, Managing Partner at Epidarex, said: “We believe that the next three years represent a highly attractive window for investing in a new wave of biotech innovation. Epidarex Fund IV offers standout innovators an opportunity to secure funding from an experienced early-stage investor. Fund IV will also accelerate breakthrough science and unlock new therapeutic possibilities with meaningful impact for patients and public health.”

Christine Hockley, Managing Director and Co-Head of Funds, British Business Bank, said: “We are investing more into UK life sciences, which is one of the eight growth sectors of the UK Industrial Strategy. The Bank is highly active in the sector, having already committed over half a billion into specialist life science funds. However, we will continue to back fund strategies like Epidarex. The UK has a very strong science and research base, so what is needed is investors who specialise in nurturing and scaling those ideas, creating new, IP-rich companies.”

Elizabeth Roper, PhD, Managing Partner at Epidarex, added: “This first close reflects strong conviction in Epidarex’s ability to build high-quality life science companies from the earliest stages. We work closely with founders to support them through critical development milestones. Fund IV allows us to continue executing on this strategy. As a longstanding partner to a diverse range of investors, we are excited about the opportunity to continue to build the Epidarex platform.”

Epidarex’s transatlantic portfolio includes Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Enterprise Therapeutics, Harpoon Medical, Kynos Therapeutics and Nodthera. These notable investments exemplify the firm’s longstanding ability to build companies with assets of strategic value and to significantly improve patient and public health outcomes.

ENDS

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Notes for Editors

About Epidarex Capital

Epidarex Capital is a transatlantic venture firm that invests in early-stage, high-growth life science companies in under-ventured markets. Epidarex focuses on providing risk capital and expertise to create, support and build young companies, including spinouts, from leading research institutions in both established and emerging life science hubs. The fund’s international management team has a track record of successfully partnering with top scientists and entrepreneurs to develop highly innovative products for the global healthcare market.

www.epidarex.com

About British Business Bank (BBB)

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.

www.british-business-bank.co.uk/

About the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB)

The Scottish National Investment Bank is Scotland’s development bank and exists to provide patient (long-term) debt or equity investments to businesses and projects that support the development of a fairer, more sustainable Scottish economy. Established in November 2020, it is wholly owned by Scottish Government ministers, on behalf of the people of Scotland, but operates independently from government.  

www.thebank.scot

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