o2h Biology Match Funding Award
From idea to milestone, start generating data on the bench
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Overview
o2h Discovery is serving up the o2h Biology Match Funding Award, an exclusive programme designed to give biotechs and big pharma an opportunity to smash through their discovery research projects!
With this award, we will match fund 50% of the FTE cost for projects up to $65K/£50K. It is designed to help you ace key milestones and rally your way to the next stage of funding or secure additional grants. It will also enable biotech research companies to tap into o2h’s vast expertise and resources, ensuring the delivery of impactful scientific results. With this initiative, we aim to foster a collaborative environment that drives scientific breakthroughs and promotes growth within the biotech ecosystem.Read More
The programme will leverage o2h’s integrated drug discovery capabilities operating from our state-of-the-art research facilities in Cambridge, UK, and Ahmedabad, India. o2h provides a comprehensive range of biology services, including Target discovery and validation, Target engagement, Assay development, Drug screening using Biophysical/Biochemical and Cell-based assay platforms. We can support you in accelerating your design-make-test-analyse cycles for Structure-activity Relationship (SAR) and in understanding the Mechanism of Action (MOA) that helps in advancing your discovery program.
Our bioscience team is staffed with a highly qualified team of Ph.Ds. and drug discovery experience gained from pharmaceutical research working collaboratively at different stages of drug development allowing effective design and implementation of bespoke assay development to support complex research programs. Our team has recently established a broad range of in-house capabilities supported by our in-depth expertise in PROTACs and ChamelogK, Psychedelics, Integrin biology, RNA and RIBOTACs and Mitochondrial biology (however not limited) and in adding value to your drug discovery program. We have invested in state-of-the-art technology to support you through lead optimization to candidate selection.Read Less
Programme Highlights
Match Funding of up to 50%
o2h will provide match funding for 50% of the FTE cost of biology research carried out with o2h discovery, for selected projects valued up to $65K/£50K.
Highly Experienced Biologists
Get access to work with our highly experienced team with a strong track record of >25 years delivering solid results to progress challenging biology projects.
Comprehensive Project Management
Expertise in executing diverse biology projects, including target engagement, pharmacological profiling, target biochemistry, cell-based assays and more.
Access to Cutting-edge Equipment Suite
o2h’s biology equipment capabilities include the Jess, Biacore T200 SPR, FLIPR Penta, CytoFlex, and more.
Eligibility
This match funding award is open to all sizes of biotech companies, big pharma, and academic institutions with novel drug discovery programmes requiring biology research support. Early-stage startups must have secured initial funding or grants to qualify. T&C 
Evaluation
The applications will be evaluated by the match funding committee based on the programme's scientific potential, impact on human health, alignment with our in-house research capabilities, and other factors. This is a time-limited competition. T&C
About o2h Discovery
Founded in 2004, o2h Discovery has a multi-modality integrated drug discovery platform, operating from Cambridge, UK, and Ahmedabad, India. We have the in-house capabilities to execute hit-lead optimisation programs leading into the patent and IND filing from our state-of-the-art biotechnology incubator with expertise in discovery chemistry, biology, pharmacology, and the ongoing project management of preclinical development. Our proven track record of working with “me too” and “undruggable” class of targets. This coupled with a good understanding of potency to efficacy translation, we provide an integrated suite of high-quality biophysical, biochemical & cellular-assay platforms.
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o2h biology capabilities
• Biacore T200 Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) – label-free technology for fragment based/small molecule screening.
• CLARIOstar Plus & PHERAstar – Modular, up-gradable platforms for a broad range of Fluorescence & Luminescence- based screens e.g. FRET, TR-FRET, FP, BRET, AlphaScreen etc.
• Robotics: Integra Assist Plus and ViaFlow, semi-automated platforms for compound dilutions and increased screening throughput.
• Hamilton Star with 96 well multi-probe head and independent 8 channel pipetting head.
• Opentrons OT2 with 8-channel P20 and 8-channel P300 pipettors.
• Bio-Rad CFX96: SYPRO Orange fluorescent dye-based thermal stability for compound-target engagement.
• Thermo CX7 LED: High content imaging platform.
• FLIPR Penta for ion channels and GPCR biology.
• CytoFLEX S for cell cycle and population analysis.
o2h biology capabilities
• o2h Discovery has expanded its biology capabilities across different therapeutic areas in Cambridge, UK and Ahmedabad, India.
• Building a team of highly qualified scientists Ph.Ds. with >25 years of experience and Masters with extensive industrial experience.
• Creating an integrated approach to drug discovery by expanding biology capabilities alongside chemistry and ADME in Ahmedabad, India.
• We can support you in accelerating your design-make-test-analyse cycles providing a robust iterative screening platform to advance your discovery program.
o2h biology capabilities
• o2h has invested in state-of-the-art technology platforms for your preclinical drug discovery programs through lead optimization to candidate selection & further development to IND filing.
• Our experienced cell biologists in Cambridge, UK can develop customizable assays for diverse target classes. Compounds can be profiled for their potency to efficacy translation in cellular assays for functional characterization and MOA.
• Our vision is to build a highly collaborative environment with seamless technology transfer across UK and India teams to bridge the best of academic and industrial intellectual capabilities that facilitate faster problem solving for your research projects.
What our clients say
Eran Seger
CEO and Co-founder, Protai Bio
We had a great experience working with o2h discovery on our Fragment libraries project. Their expertise in conducting fragment-based screening, targeting dual series threonine kinase on surface plasmon resonance, was impressive. The efficiency, productivity, and detailed communication from the o2h biologist team were outstanding. We look forward to further positive outcomes in our future collaborations.
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Prof Kirill Alexandrov
CSIRO-QUT Synthetic Biology Alliance
We have worked with o2h team on a range of synthetic projects and had consistently positive experience. The combination of competence, effective project management and detailed documentation made us go back again and again. The company offers excellent value for money and makes a significant effort to work within the given funding envelope.
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Julian Blagg
Executive Vice President, Drug Discovery
NeoPhore has worked closely with o2h for over 4 years, consistently supporting NeoPhore with small and medium scale synthesis and characterisation of novel small molecule therapeutics; work that has enabled significant Series A and Series B investment. NeoPhore highly values the synthetic expertise, efficiency, project management and clear communication at o2h. Importantly, o2h benefits from highly integrated analytical and compound purification groups to enable consistent and smooth delivery of high quality target compounds to tight deadlines. Furthermore, flexibility of resourcing at o2h is ideally suited to support an evolving small biotech company like NeoPhore.
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Brian Dymock
Head of QEDDI
Our relationship with o2h over many years supporting our medicinal chemistry projects in QEDDI has been highly productive. With o2h’s help we have progressed our portfolio to an advanced stage ready for partnering. We are very pleased with the efficiency, productivity and communication with o2h chemists and look forward to further positive outcomes.
Read more on LinkedInMeet our team
Gayathri Sadasivam
Vice President - Biology
Gayathri's Biography
Gayathri Sadasivam
Vice President - Biology
Gayathri leads the biology capabilities in Ahmedabad, India and Cambridge, UK. She also significantly contributes to the business development with the o2h customers world-wide, understanding the market requirements, contributing to technology transfer and investment evaluations. Prior to this, she has worked for more than 2 decades in different therapeutic areas in both industry and academia. She has led multiple programs in drug discovery projects through lead optimization to candidate selection and further development to late stage clinical trials. She has worked in a multi-disciplinary environment, leading chemical biology efforts creating chemical tools that modulate novel class of “undruggable” targets. Gayathri has a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the Brain Research Institute, Zurich, Switzerland.
Prashant Shah
CEO - o2h Discovery and Co-Founder - o2h Group
Prashant's Biography
Prashant Shah
CEO - o2h Discovery and Co-Founder - o2h Group
Prashant is a serial entrepreneur in life sciences and tech in which one of those companies was acquired by a public company. He is currently active in seed investing (a portfolio of ~50 companies), product/IP development, services, and building lab/office infrastructure. The early career was with the Strategy group at Accenture. He has a BEng, an MSc, in which he worked on the Human Genome Program at the Sanger Centre, and an MPhil in Management from the Judge Institute. Prashant is also a General Partner in the o2h SEIS/EIS Human Health Funds.
Catherine Stace
Vice President - Business Development (East Coast USA) & Strategic Relationships
Catherine's Biography
Catherine Stace
Vice President - Business Development (East Coast USA) & Strategic Relationships
Dr. Catherine holds over 18 years of post-doctoral experience in therapeutic discovery, with strategic roles in biotechnology, consultancy, and CRO organizations. She has contributed to small molecule therapeutics, peptides, health tech, and engineering. She started her career at Isogenica and Bicycle Therapeutics, establishing therapeutic platforms and discovery programs. She has also consulted for various biotech and health tech start-ups to develop platform technologies at the intersection of biology and engineering. Before joining o2h, she was EVP of Business Development at Domainex, collaborating with companies in the UK, USA, and Europe. She has completed an MSc in Biochemistry from Nottingham, a PhD in Cell Biology from Cambridge, and an MBA from the Open University.
Andy Morley
Chief Scientific Officer
Andy's Biography
Andy Morley
Chief Scientific Officer
Andy is a highly experienced and accomplished Medicinal Chemist with over 25 years of experience in major pharmaceutical companies such as Sanofi-Aventis and AstraZeneca. He has extensive experience across all phases of drug discovery and has played a key role in the development of five candidates that have reached clinical trials. Andy is a prolific author and inventor, with over 55 publications and patents to his name. Since 2013, he has been working full-time with o2h Limited, where he leads the scientific evaluation of investment opportunities and provides scientific support. He has also served as CSO for two early-stage collaborations within the o2h Ventures portfolio, demonstrating his ability to successfully guide drug discovery projects from concept to clinical development.
FAQs
What is o2h Biology Match Funding?
A programme where o2h discovery offers to conduct biology research at 50% of the FTE cost for eligible projects valued up to $65K/£50K, excluding the cost of starting materials.
How does it work and what are the benefits?
o2h reviews the project scope, with a particular focus on the biology aspects. If approved, we provide match funding to conduct biology research at 50% of the FTE cost, along with scientific expertise and access to our state-of-the-art facilities in Cambridge, UK, and Ahmedabad, India.
Who can apply to this programme?
This programme is open to all sizes of biotech companies, big pharma, and academic institutions with novel drug discovery programmes requiring biology research support. Please note: This opportunity is available to new collaborators only i.e those collaborators who are not currently working with o2h discovery.
What is the maximum amount of match funding available for a project? What if the FTE cost is more than $65K/£50K?
We match fund 50% of the FTE cost, capped at a maximum FTE value of £50,000 (excluding the cost of starting materials).
- This means if the total FTE cost is £50,000 or less, we will match fund 50% of that amount.
- For projects exceeding £50,000 in FTE cost, for example if the FTE cost is £60,000, o2h will contribute £25,000 (50% of the £50,000 cap), This gives the awardee £25,000 in support, and remaining £35,000 will be covered by them.
- If the FTE cost is £30,000, o2h will contribute £15,000 (50% of the £30,000). This gives awardee £15,000 in support and remaining £15,000 will be covered by them.
- Likewise, If the FTE cost is £50,000, o2h will contribute £25,000 (50% of the £50,000) leaving £25,000 for the awardee to cover.
Does the match funding also cover the cost of reagents and starting materials?
No, the cost of reagents and starting materials is not included in the match funding. o2h Discovery’s contribution is limited to match funding 50% of the FTE cost only.
Does o2h Discovery claim IP rights or equity in return for the match funding?
No, o2h Discovery does not take any intellectual property (IP) rights or equity in return for the match funding. The aim of the o2h Biology Match Funding Award is to support biotech innovators by reducing the cost burden of early-stage research, without claiming ownership or stake in your company or discoveries.
Can the biology project be conducted in collaboration with another CRO or external organization?
No, the entire work package must be fully executed at o2h Discovery’s in-house research facilities. Projects conducted in conjunction with other CROs or external organizations are not eligible for match funding.
What is the expense coverage limit for each collaboration, and does it apply to multiple proposals in the drug discovery pipeline?
The total expense coverage would be set at 50% of the FTE cost per collaboration. This coverage will not extend to any additional proposals as the project advances through the drug discovery pipeline.
Is there a time limit for projects funded under this programme?
Yes, the evaluation committee will determine the maximum duration for each project based on the scope of the research. However, we do not encourage extending small-scale projects under the match funding benefit for long periods, such as 6 months or a year.