US billionaire Gerald Chan returns to back UCC spin-out Artugen

University College Cork (UCC) spin-out Artugen Therapeutics has secured a further $5 million (€4.4 million) in funding from Morningside Group, an investment firm founded by US billionaire Gerald Chan.

The investment brings to $32 million the amount raised by the company to date, almost all of which has come from Morningside.

Artugen was founded in 2016 by Colin Hill and Paul Ross, who established the company as a spin off from UCC's APC Microbiome Institute.

The company is a provider of clinical research and development services using intellectual property licensed from the institute for the development of targeted treatments for bacterial infections.

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Its first clinical-stage investigational agent - ART24 - is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1 clinical trial for the prevention of Clostridioides difficile infection recurrence in patients who have completed standard of care antibiotic treatment.

ART24 is an orally administered, naturally occurring, pure bacterial strain which was discovered by Artugen Therapeutics in collaboration with APC Microbiome Ireland.

Headquartered in Concord, Massachusetts, Artugen's research arm is located in Cork.

Hong Kong-based Morningside focuses on start-up biotechnology companies founded on novel scientific discoveries. The Chan family also founded the Hang Lung Group, a listed holding company focused on property development.