Biotechnology company Rinri Therapeutics stated on Friday that it has raised GBP1.4m in seed funding co-led by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund and UCB Ventures and joined by BioCity/

The funds will be used to support Rinri's ongoing growth including advancing its novel regenerative cell therapy to treat Sensorineural Hearing Loss through the repair of the damaged cytoarchitecture in the inner ear. SNHL happens when there is damage to the hair cells in the cochlear and/or the auditory nerve.

Under the terms of the financing agreement, Detlev Mennerich, PhD, investment director at Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund; Erica Whittaker, PhD, head of UCB Ventures; and Claire Brown, PhD, investment director at BioCity have been elected to Rinri's board of directors.

Concurrently, Rinri has named Simon Chandler PhD as its new CEO. Most recently, Dr Chandler has spent the past four years at IP Group, where he was responsible for early stage investments and company-building for UK university life science spinouts.

(USD1=GBP0.785710)