Since 2012, Syncona has added 22 companies to its portfolio, investing over £1.2 billion in attractive opportunities across a range of modalities and therapeutic areas.
Key stats
Unless stated all financials at 31 December 2023
Portfolio companies since 2012
Capital deployed since 2012
Programmes progressed to clinical trial since 2012
Gross multiple on invested capital on four companies sold to date
Gross portfolio IRR since 2012
Gross portfolio multiple on invested capital
2012—16
Syncona Partners was co-founded in 2012 by Martin Murphy and the Wellcome Trust, a charitable foundation based on healthcare research. Syncona was set up to take a long-term view to building globally competitive life science businesses leveraging the UK/EU scientific research base.
Between 2012 and 2016, we added eight life sciences businesses to the portfolio, seeking to develop treatments for patients in areas of high level of unmet need.
In 2016, Syncona merged with the Battle Against Cancer Investment Trust (BACIT), becoming a FTSE 250 healthcare company and expanding its permanent capital base.
2017—18
Syncona added a further four companies to its portfolio, investing across innovative new fields of medicine.
In 2017, Syncona portfolio company, Blue Earth Diagnostics, launched its first marketed commercial product, Axumin, going on to diagnose over 50,000 patients during Syncona's ownership. In 2017-18, two other portfolio companies, Nightstar and Autolus listed on NASDAQ.
2019—onward
Since 2019, Syncona has added a further ten companies to its portfolio, listed two companies on NASDAQ (Freeline and Achilles), merged two companies (Gyroscope and Orbit) and sold four portfolio companies. Nightstar was acquired by Biogen for $877 million in March 2019, delivering a 4.5x return on Syncona’s original investment, Blue Earth Diagnostics was sold to Bracco Imaging in June 2019 to deliver a 10x return, and Gyroscope was sold to Novartis in a transaction worth up to $1.5 billion, delivering up front proceeds of £326 million to Syncona at a 2.9 multiple on cost. The sale of Neogene Therapeutics to AstraZeneca was completed in January 2023, in a transaction worth up to $320 million including $200 million in up front proceeds, delivering a 1.1x gross multiple on original cost for Syncona.
