Biotech Amprologix raises £740k from Plutus Investment Group
This article covers a pre-Series A funding round on 21 October 2025 for Amprologix, a Plymouth-based biotech spinout pioneering new families of antibiotics, founded by Mathew Upton. It raised £740k in the round led by Plutus Investment Group LLP with participation from other angel investors.
What does Amprologix do?
Epidermicin NI01 is an antibiotic candidate developed to treat skin and wound infections including MRSA. Its primary use is treatment applied to skin and wounds to prevent or clear infections, including those caused by MRSA.
Why is Amprologix useful?
Problem
Hospitals face rising antimicrobial-resistant infections like MRSA and C. difficile that are harder to treat. This increases wound and bloodstream infection risks and limits effective antibiotic options for patient care.
Solution
Amprologix explains that it is developing novel antibiotics, including lead candidate epidermicin NI01, to treat wound infections. It plans Phase I human trials in 2026 after completing late pre-clinical development.
How much did Amprologix raise?
Amprologix raised £740k in a pre-Series A funding round, with Plutus Investment Group LLP among the investors. This makes it the 53rd largest funding round in October 2025 (60 recorded). By size, the round comes in 465th for 2025 (532 recorded) in the Startupmag database, as of 21 October 2025.
For details on how Startupmag compiles its rankings, view our Methodology.
Who invested in Amprologix?
Key investors included the following.
- Plutus Investment Group LLP: An angel-investor network that provides early-stage capital, including seed and series A funding; its venture partner Dr Rita Dobmeyer will join Amprologix's board to support clinical development.
- Individual angel investors: Angel investors with experience in backing early-stage life sciences and biotech spinouts.
In the funding announcement, Mohammed Jamal from Plutus Investment Group LLP said:
Plutus are delighted to be working with Amprologix to help secure this important seed funding that will allow the company to achieve key preclinical milestones and we're looking forward to helping with a subsequent series-A round.
If you're researching potential backers in this space:
- Explore our list of biotech venture capital firms in the UK
- Browse our directory of biotech angel investors in the UK
Who founded Amprologix?
Mathew Upton is the founder of Amprologix.
In the funding announcement, Mathew Upton explained:
I am extremely excited about the work that we will be able to carry out in the coming months with the recently secured investment. This will strengthen the case for development of epidermicin NI01 into a new therapy for skin infections that are a cause of pain and suffering for thousands of people in the UK every day.
The company continued that new therapies are urgently needed for these and other, sometimes life-threatening, infections and that investment and support from new investors will be important to make progress against drug-resistant infections.
Where is Amprologix based?
Amprologix is based in Plymouth, UK.
What sector is Amprologix in?
Amprologix operates in the biotech sector. The sector develops medicines and medical technologies from biological research. That means making new drugs and tests to prevent or treat illnesses.
Key trends and challenges in Biotech:
Rising antimicrobial resistance
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global threat, says the WHO, affecting common bugs like MRSA and C. difficile.
It matters because older antibiotics stop working for surgeries and routine care.
AI and computational biology accelerating discovery
AI tools and structure prediction cut discovery time and costs.
Examples include AlphaFold and generative models used to design proteins and small molecules.
This helps move candidates to tests faster.
High costs and translation bottlenecks
Moving from lab to human trials often takes years and costs millions.
Many promising projects stall before expensive Phase I or Phase II studies.
Scaling manufacturing and meeting regulators adds extra time and expense.
For a deeper look at innovation in this space, see the biotech startups in the UK.
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