Drug discovery and development firm Mission raised $15m (£12m) in equity investment.

The round was led by existing investor Pfizer Ventures, the venture capital arm of US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc.

Mission and Pfizer Inc. have also expanded their relationship by entering into an evaluation and option agreement for DUB target validation.

Pfizer Ventures, which been an investor in Mission Therapeutics since 2013. The latest capital will support development of Mission’s platform, as well as growth of its pipeline of DUB inhibitor programmes.

Under the terms of the evaluation and option agreement, Pfizer will access the firm’s medical technology for promising drug targets.

Dr. Denis Patrick, Managing Partner of Pfizer Ventures and Member of Mission’s Board of Directors said: “Since our initial investment in Mission seven years ago, the company has grown tremendously and the depth of its scientific expertise and capability has grown alongside it. We are proud to expand our relationship with the company and our scientists are looking forward to a successful collaboration in this important area of research.”

Dr. Anker Lundemose, CEO of Mission Therapeutics added:“We are pleased to expand our relationship with Pfizer, one of the world’s premier biopharmaceutical companies. We have benefitted from the valuable contributions of Dr. Denis Patrick as a member of our Board of Directors and we look forward to working with the wider Pfizer team.”