Who are the pioneers

Professor Imre Berger brings decades of technical expertise, alongside a successful track record as founder of three companies, with one exit to Pfizer under his belt. His co-founder, Frederic Garzoni, is also a highly experienced researcher, and both have previously led R&D facilities with scalability at the heart of their focus. They’ve got outstanding commercial support from two seasoned NEDs. Jackie Turnbull brings over 30 years of experience in business development and licensing, and played an instrumental role in Ziylo’s £800m exit to Novo Nordisk. Chairperson Damian Marron is a trained pharmacologist and cell biologist with a successful track record as a former serial CEO, with extensive experience in early stage therapeutic spin outs.

Why us

The coronavirus pandemic served to highlight what most experts already recognised as a pressing need for progress in the vaccine development space. With urbanisation, global warming, and deforestation increasing opportunities for zoonotic pathogen transmission, the potential for further pandemics is already there. The threat of infectious disease to humankind is set to increase, exacerbated by the AMR crisis, (read more about the Action Fund here). Octopus Ventures is perfectly placed to support Imophron as it moves its platform through clinical development. Our team’s expertise in biochemistry, as well as a considerable network of biotech investors across the UK and the US, puts us in a unique position.  We have been following the anti-infectives closely, attending related conferences and publishing thought leadership pieces, to better engage in discussion with experts in the field. As an evergreen fund, we are patient capital, and can afford to give Imophron the time it needs to develop its much-needed and revolutionary new platform, an essential safeguard against future pandemics.