AstraZeneca

What they do

AstraZeneca is a global, science-led biopharmaceutical company that was founded in 1999 through the merger of Swedens Astra AB and the UKs Zeneca Group. The companys core focus areas for research and development include oncology, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism, respiratory and immunology, and rare diseases. As a corporate investor, AstraZeneca has historically invested through its venture capital arm, MedImmune Ventures, which had a fund size of $400 million. The company also engages in strategic partnerships and venture investments, such as the Wuxi AstraZeneca-CICC Venture Capital Partnership in China. AstraZeneca makes occasional investments in drug developers from Series A onwards and also runs open innovation platforms like the BioVentureHub in Gothenburg to foster collaboration with emerging life science companies. The companys investment strategy supports its ambition to deliver 20 new medicines by 2030.

What they look for

AstraZeneca invests to secure access to "transformative technologies" that can disrupt their core therapeutic areas. They explicitly state a goal to pioneer "new modalities" beyond traditional small molecules and biologics.

Stage

Series A, Series B+

Sectors

Healthcare, AI

Based

Cambridge, GB