Business
M&G champions UK innovation in drug discovery by leading US$50 million funding round for biotech company bit.bio
M&G Investments (M&G) today announces that it has led a US$50 million Series C funding round for bit.bio, the Cambridge-based biotech company pioneering next-generation human cell programming technology. The investment of patient capital into a fast-growing private UK company, spun out from the University of Cambridge, marks a major vote of confidence in innovation and the future of drug development in the UK.
About this update from M&g Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"LONDON, Jan. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- M&G Investments (M&G) today announces that it has led a US$50 million Series C funding round for bit.bio, the Cambridge-based biotech company pioneering next-generation human cell programming technology. The investment of patient capital into a fast-growing private UK company, spun out from the University of Cambridge, marks a major vote of confidence in innovation and the future of drug development in the UK.","length":463,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"image","alt":"bit.bio logo (PRNewsfoto/bit.bio)","displaySize":"","headline":null,"caption":"bit.bio logo (PRNewsfoto/bit.bio)","className":"","disableSlideshowImg":false,"size":{"original":{"width":400,"height":116,"url":"https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/42ee11d3d7b6f014a143078c6e0785b3"},"resized":{"url":"https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/QXrCNe7U2E2FXz93SNistQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTcwNTtoPTIwNDtjZj13ZWJw/https://media.zenfs.com/en/prnewswire.com/42ee11d3d7b6f014a143078c6e0785b3","width":400,"height":116}},"href":"https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2606227/bit_bio_logo.html","hrefExternal":true,"rel":"nofollow"},{"type":"text","content":"The funding will enable bit.bio to accelerate the development of, and access to, its products, scale its operations globally, expand into the multi-billion toxicology market, bolster its manufacturing operations and generate industry-leading datasets for AI model training.","length":273,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"The company's ioCells™ human cell products are used by leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies and academic institutions globally. Through the creation of human cells and models for research, drug discovery, and toxicology, bit.bio is leading the global transition towards human-relevant New Approach Methodologies1 (NAMs), which use advanced cell-based and computational models instead of animal testing, and are reshaping how medicines are developed with greater predictiveness.","length":489,"tagName":"p"},{"type":"text","content":"M&G has invested through its Crossover strategy within its public equity business on behalf of M&G Life's £130 billion With Profits Fund and its 4.5 million UK policyholders. Crossover provides patient growth equity to high-quality, fast-growing private companies, enabling their eventual crossover into public markets.",...