Discovery Park signs MOU with Oyster Venture Partners to drive neuroscience centre of excellence and tenant growth

Discovery Park has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Oyster Venture Partners in a collaboration which will help drive investment and accelerate the creation of a Neuroscience Centre of Excellence at the Kent site.

The partnership will also support the growth of Discovery Park based companies and provide potential investment opportunities for Discovery Park Ventures.

Oyster Venture Partners is a UK and Europe-based investment intermediary dedicated to raising capital for its innovating client companies across the UK, Europe and the US in the life sciences and digital health sectors. This MoU supports part of Discovery Park’s strategic vision, the development of a thriving neurosciences ecosystem of innovative start-ups, contract research organisations (CROs) and academics to develop companies for the benefit of healthcare worldwide.

The partnership with Oyster is also complementary to the recently established Discovery Park Ventures investment fund which provides risk capital to businesses in the fast-growing life sciences and technology sectors. While still in its infancy, Discovery Park Ventures has ambitions to grow to £25m within the next three years. It has already awarded funding to two companies which are based at the park.

The collaboration will also support Discovery Park’s relationship with the University of Kent, covered by another recently signed MOU. This sees Discovery Park and the University of Kent work together in several strategic areas including Industrial Biotechnology, Neurosciences and digital and data driven healthcare, increasingly referred to as ‘Tech Bio’.

David D’Alton, Executive Chairman for Oyster Venture Partners, said:

“Discovery Park has built up a burgeoning reputation as a life sciences park where companies develop and thrive, so we are delighted to be collaborating in support of the Neuroscience Centre of Excellence, its tenant growth, and new investment. We look forward to improving funding success rates and providing much-needed support to entrepreneurs on their respective missions to make positive impacts in healthcare.”

Mayer Schreiber, CEO Discovery Park, added:

“Our partnership with OVP signals an important milestone as we continue to drive the growth of Discovery Park’s innovative community and work to tackle unmet healthcare needs in neuroscience research and treatment. Our close working relationship with our tenant companies, combined with OVP’s expertise, will lay the foundations for their future success.”