o2h ventures is delighted to announce the launch of their HMRC approved knowledge intensive EIS fund, focussing on supporting the expansion of UK research and development in biotech therapeutics and AI.
To support the Government’s aim to strengthen and grow UK innovation, which were known to be capital and research intensive, the EIS knowledge intensive fund has been launched to pledge support to companies working in this space, providing them access to capital to develop their early novel ideas.
Knowledge intensive investing offers investors an opportunity to take advantage of the predictability of the tax year, from which they are able to claim relief. To date, investors in EIS funds claim relief when the funds are deployed into a business. However, in the new HMRC approved knowledge intensive funds, relief is dated when the investment into the fund is made (with carry back options depending on individual circumstances).
o2h ventures is in an exciting position to meet the criteria for knowledge intensive investing to nurture early stage biotech therapeutics & AI assets through seed investment, working alongside and investing in companies that can look to generate returns (financial, social and ethical) for investors as part of the post seed and early finance cycle.
Sunil Shah, CEO at o2h Ventures said: “It feels like the Knowledge Intensive HMRC approved funds were made for Biotech Therapeutics investing; looking forward to passing the tax advantages of this structure to the investors in our Fund.
The investment focus of the HMRC approved knowledge intensive fund will be therapeutic drug opportunities or technologies that enable drug discovery with an emphasis on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The geographic scope shall be UK wide, following on from the success of the ‘o2h human health EIS Fund’.
The opportunity is vast. Large pharmaceutical companies have been closing down research centres globally for the last decade, changing their focus from developing internal innovation to acquisitions. This has resulted in competition for the best science, forcing up their value and providing earlier exit opportunities.
About o2h ventures:
The HMRC o2h Knowledge Intensive human health EIS Fund is the first approved EIS fund in the UK, solely focused on investing in EIS seed stage companies covering novel drug discovery & AI, digital therapeutics and enabling services.
The o2h team are leaders in the biotech community and have been actively involved as investors, holding various board/industry positions as well as being engaged in grassroots scientific activity for over 20 years. o2h ventures operates from their proprietary 2.7 acre Mill SciTech Park where they are developing a unique model for incubating small life science companies.
For more information or to invest in the fund, please click here
