EnsiliTech Spin-out of University of Bath
EnsiliTech, a Spin Up Science Ventures portfolio company, announce today they have spun-out of the University of Bath.
EnsiliTech have developed a method to make biologicals stable without refrigeration. Vaccines, antibodies and proteins are susceptible to degradation at room temperature and hence rely on an extensive network of refrigeration and cold storage transport known as the cold chain, which sees 50% of vaccines wasted each year due to failures in temperature control. EnsiliTech’s technology encases these biologicals in a protective silica matrix to prevent degradation, reducing wastage and increasing the accessibility of vaccines and antibodies across the globe to low- and middle-income countries where there is a lack sufficient cold chain infrastructure.
The technology has been developed by the founding team: Dr Asel Sartbaeva, Dr Aswin Doekhie, Dr Stephen Wells and Dr Matt Slade. Dr Sartbaeva has participated in several Spin Up Academy Programs, before deciding to pursue the spinout route, and in the last year, the team joined Spin Up Science Ventures, a venture accelerator dedicated to supporting early stage academic breakthroughs. They then went on to secure funding in the InnovateUK ICURe program and having recently been awarded a £300k follow-on Innovate UK grant, EnsiliTech are currently fundraising match investment.
Dr Asel Sartbaeva (CEO)
Dr Aswin Doekhie (CTO)
Dr Asel Sartbaeva, CEO of EnsiliTech said: "Spinning-out of the university is a great step for EnsiliTech, ensuring that we continue on our journey of commercialisation of ensilication technology. I am very happy that we are supported by Spin Up Science, who have been with us from the beginning and are sharing our journey, and we hope that our partnership will build the success of the company in the future. Ensilication will help create new generation of biologicals that are free from fridge or freezer dependence. This will bring more vaccines to patients around the globe, more therapies that are inaccessible today because of cold chain, and will help in saving lives worldwide. "
For more information on EnsiliTech, check out their website or follow them on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Dr Ben Miles, CEO of Spin Up Science said: "EnsiliTech's technology is a huge leap forward and offers the possibility to increase patient access to life saving medicines and vaccines. We are incredibly excited to support this driven team to realise their vision for the future."
EnsiliTech is part of Spin Up Science Ventures portfolio, where we have worked closely with the EnsiliTech team through market discovery and developing commercial strategy, as well as supporting them through the spinout process, company launch and their current investment raise.
You can find out more about Spin Up Science Ventures here.