Vaccitech is a spin-out company from the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, one of the oldest and most renowned vaccine research centres in the world. They needed a virtual data room provider to host due diligence for their Series A fundraising.
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Vaccitech had developed a vaccine technology to fight against influenza and prostate cancer. The company was seeking outside investment to help fund clinical trials. The company planned to use the cash to complete two Phase II trials, testing vaccines for flu and prostate cancer, by 2019. It also planned to use the investment to fund the research necessary to take three other vaccine programs to the clinic. Vaccitech executives learned about the virtual data room provider SmartRoom and chose the provider to host due diligence for their Series A fundraising.
Challenge
Vaccitech needed a way to securely share sensitive company information with potential investors. The company used a cloud storage provider to host its data. They needed a way to quickly and easily transfer the 5-10k pages of data and the existing file structure from the cloud into the virtual data room. Once the room was setup, they needed the ability to grant investors access to the data, but with restrictions. The printing and saving of documents needed to be disabled. Vaccitech also wanted PDF documents to be watermarked to retain further control of proprietary information. The ability to know which potential investors are looking at what documents can give companies valuable insight for negotiations during a round of fundraising, so they wanted the ability to track and monitor all activity taking place in the room.
They needed a solution that could address:
- Data Security: Maintaining data security was a top priority. It was important the client’s information remain secure at all times.
- Document Access: Vaccitech needed the ability to grant investors access to the data, but with restrictions.
- Track & Monitor: The ability to know which potential investors are looking at what documents can give companies valuable insight for negotiations during a round of fundraising.
Result
Within hours, the SmartRoom team transferred the company’s data from the cloud into the SmartRoom. To maintain the integrity of the company the room was customized to match Vaccitech’s branding and to provide a seamless experience for investors. Once the room was setup, a custom security profile was created for potential investors that restricted their ability to print, save, and modify data. Custom watermarks were added to documents for an additional layer of security. Administrators received instant alerts and notifications of real-time activity taking place in the room which helped in deal negotiations.
“SmartRoom’s Virtual Data Room was the perfect platform for our complex needs. The support team provided us with an excellent and prompt service. We highly recommend SmartRoom.” – Dr. Thomas Evans – Vaccitech, CEO
In the end, Vaccitech secured £20m ($27.1m) in a successful Series A financing co-led by GV, Oxford Sciences Innovation and Sequoia China, and joined by Neptune Ventures.
“SmartRoom was fast and easy. I estimate SmartRoom help cut down days from the close.” –– Dr. Thomas Evans – Vaccitech, CEO
