DJS Antibodies moves to our newly-converted R&D labs

Interviews are conducted by The Oxford Trust to give insight into the science and tech businesses they support in their innovation centres: the Oxford Centre for Innovation and the Wood Centre for Innovation.

Biotech start-up, DJS Antibodies, is the second company to move into our newly-converted class II laboratory space at the Wood Centre for Innovation.

A cutting-edge biotech, DJS was started 2015 by David Llewellyn and Joe Illingworth who met while studying at the University of Oxford’s nearby Jenner Institute. They are working on new therapeutics to treat the world’s most critical inflammatory diseases, a class of disease that accounts for more than 50% of deaths worldwide.

They have developed HEPTAD, a new platform for antibody discovery built on a deep understanding of immunology and antibody generation. The platform enables the discovery of antibody medicines which target key disease-causing proteins which, to date, have been intractable to drug discovery. Their lead programme targets a validated GPCR (G protein-coupled receptor) for the treatment of Diabetic Kidney Disease, a long-term condition that causes the irreversible loss of kidney function.

David Llewellyn, chief executive officer, DJS Antibodies, said: “There could not be a better place for DJS to take its next steps as a rapidly growing biotech company. With state-of-the art new laboratories, right between Oxford’s two major hospitals, and just a stone’s throw from some of the best academics and young companies in the world, we’re thrilled to call the Wood Centre for Innovation our new home. The cherry on the cake is the Centre’s physical location, surrounded by beautiful woodland, and the Trust’s adjoining Science Oxford Centre which allows our team to volunteer to help bring science alive to the next generation of young people.”

The Oxford Trust’s development of class II laboratory facilities at its Wood Centre for Innovation is to answer the significant demand that has been seen in the last year from science and tech start-ups and SMEs for lab space in Oxford’s world-leading life sciences cluster, centred in Headington, delivering lifesaving developments such as the COVID-19 vaccine – highlighted at the G7 health summit in Oxford last week. The Trust has received £0.1 million in funding towards the £0.5m project via the Government’s Local Growth Fund, secured by the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP).

DJS is now part of our 28-company strong thriving community of science and tech start-ups and spinouts across our two centres. We are looking forward to seeing them flourish and grow at our Wood Centre for Innovation.

For more information about DJS, see here.