CatSci Ltd, a scientifically-led, commercially-minded and award-winning innovation partner for medicines development, has secured £4.5m of investment from the alternative lender BOOST&Co to expedite the development and launch of life-changing therapeutics.

Shaw & Co, the specialist corporate finance advisory firm, advised CatSci on the deal which will be used to fund strategic expansion of its workforce, laboratories, equipment and offerings.  

Established in 2011, CatSci now employs nearly 100 people and achieved a turnover of more than £5.8m in 2021. The company develops economically and environmentally sustainable drug manufacturing processes that enable its global pharmaceutical customers to create affordable small molecule therapeutics to address critical public health challenges, including antimicrobial resistance, cancer and mental health.  

The £4.5m funding will be a continuation of CatSci’s £3m investment - started in 2021 - whilst helping to refinance the company’s existing debt. New equipment and a major extension to its 13,000 sq ft laboratories in Cardiff will support CatSci’s expansion of its capabilities in chemical and analytical development, material science, and product formulation, alongside GMP Analytical testing. This will enable CatSci to continue offering “more and better” to its customers so that they can deliver best-in-class medicines to patients worldwide.

"Expanding our chemistry facilities in Cardiff and establishing our GMP Analytical facility in London are pivotal steps of our journey."

Dr Ross Burn
CEO at CatSci Ltd

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Dr Ross Burn, Chief Executive Officer, CatSci, said: “It was our pleasure to work with Shaw & Co to source significant growth capital from BOOST&Co to complete our 2022 investment plan. Expanding our chemistry facilities in Cardiff and establishing our GMP Analytical facility in London are pivotal steps of our journey to become a fully integrated CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control) innovation partner that accelerates medicines development. ”

Chris Mears, Principal at BOOST&Co said: “CatSci is a world class and agile innovation partner in an increasingly vital sector. This investment will help fuel the growth plans in providing new state-of-the art laboratories and highly skilled job opportunities as well as continuing to enhance South Wales’ reputation as a hot-bed of innovation and expertise.  

“We quickly gained confidence in the capability of this management team and their ability to continue their scale-up journey. The focus at BOOST&Co to buy into future plans rather than pure historics and to provide a higher debt amount than a main-stream lender was key to supporting these expansion plans effectively.”  

Colin Burns, Director, Shaw & Co, said: “We ran a competitive marketing process across a wide variety of traditional and alternative lenders to find CatSci the best possible deal which would provide them with a strong foundation for further growth. The deal demonstrates that there are certainly a number of viable financing options out there for any SME looking to fund their company’s future development and expansion.”