Pioneering life sciences work in Aberdeen has taken a major leap forward through a new partnership with Scottish healthcare services.
Granite City-based EnteroBiotix said yesterday its new tie-up with the Academic Health Science Partnership in Tayside (AHSPT) and the NHS would accelerate the development of its product line and see some start making their way into hospitals by the end of the summer.
The firm is also working on a fresh round of funding, which is expected to be worth at least double the £500,000 secured for it by angel syndicate Equity Gap and the Scottish Investment Bank – the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise – last year.
Dr James McIlroy, EnteroBiotix’s founder and chief executive, delivered the update as First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and chief medical officer Catherine Calderwood toured the company’s base in the Aberdeen Blood Transfusion Centre at Foresterhill Health Campus yesterday.
EnteroBiotix’s products are focused on “faecal microbiota transplantation” (FMT) for patients suffering from diseases associated with bacterial imbalances in their stomachs.
The process implants intestinal faecal bacteria and yeasts from a healthy donor into someone who lacks the essential microflora they need for their gut to function properly.
FMT is largely inaccessible and expensive, so for EnteroBiotix the goal has always been to develop an orally-delivered treatment.
The company has seven full-time employees and Mr McIlroy expects this to rocket to 20 by the end of this year.
EnteroBiotix’s new partnership with AHSPT and NHS Tayside involves clinical studies, a health economic analysis and the development of a business case for the firm’s advanced products.
Dr McIlroy, said: “The facilities and resources now available to us are game-changing for the company and our product pipeline.”
Ms Sturgeon said: “Scotland has a thriving life sciences sector that is renowned globally for innovation and its contribution to pioneering treatments for patients with serious medical conditions. Companies like EnteroBiotix are testament to this.”