LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Intellectual property company Frontier IP said on Tuesday that its portfolio company, AI-driven drug discovery firm Exscientia, has raised $60m (£49.1m) through a series C financing round.

The AIM-traded company said the new capital would be used to expand Exscientia's existing portfolio and pipeline, and to accelerate its international expansion, including in the United States.

It said Exscientia had demonstrated high growth and met significant milestones, noting that earlier in the year, it announced that the first ever drug designed by artificial intelligence (AI) had entered phase 1 human clinical trials, in partnership with Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma.

The financing round was led by new investor Novo Holdings, with existing investors Evotec, Bristol Myers Squibb and GT Healthcare Capital Partners participating.

Robert Ghenchev, senior partner and head of Novo Growth, would join Exscientia's board of directors as part of the round.

"As a result of the financing round, Frontier IP now holds a 2.4% equity stake in Exscientia," the board said in its statement.

"Based on the group's trading for the year to date, the outlook for Frontier IP for the remainder of the financial year ending 30 June, including in relation to the group's overall portfolio valuation, remains in line with management expectations following the completion of the Exscientia financing round."

At 1040 BST, shares in Frontier IP were up 1.75% at 64.1p.

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