Apollo was formed in 2015 through Cambridge University, Imperial College London, and University College London in collaboration with pharmaceutical partners AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and Johnson & Johnson.

The goal of the new company is to advance breakthrough discoveries by fostering relationships with academic scientists and leveraging insights from industry partners with late-stage development and commercialization expertise. Each of the joint venture founders retains a minority stake in the company post financing.

The company advances its program through a portfolio-based model, with a centralized team of drug development specialists working alongside asset-level teams of subject matter experts. With this approach, the company is able to evaluate drug candidates with minimal spending. Apollo has advanced over 15 therapeutic programs in oncology, major inflammatory disorders, and rare diseases.

Apollo will use the new funds to advance its lead therapeutic programs into clinical development and identify new programs, as well as expand into the U.S.

The financing was led by Patient Square Capital.