A financing round that was significantly oversubscribed by new and existing investors will help advance the Oxford-headquartered biotech's exosome therapeutics into the clinic and expand its technology platform.

The addition of the Arizona-based sequencing lab builds on Exact’s recent license of the TARDIS liquid biopsy technology from TGen.

The agreement focuses on respiratory viruses, especially influenza, and includes a $225m upfront payment plus an increase in GSK’s equity investment in Vir.

Already partnering with AZ and Boehringer Ingelheim in liver targets, the UK biotech sees potential to hit ‘undruggable’ CNS targets as well.