A Scottish biotechnology company focused on unmet medical needs in gut health has completed its largest funding round to date.
EnteroBiotix has raised more than £27 million from new and existing investors to expand its work, which earlier this week passed a key milestone. The latest funding round includes backing from the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB), Thairm Bio and Kineticos Life Sciences.
Set up in 2017 by chief executive Dr James McIlroy, EnteroBiotix employs 50 people developing microbiome medicines to fortify and restore the lining of the gut. The company is carrying out clinical trials of drugs designed to prevent and treat a range of conditions including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), blood cancer, and liver cirrhosis.
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The financing comprises £15.7m of new equity and the conversion of £11.6m of loan notes into equity. SNIB provided £6m of new equity, with about £10m from other existing investors including Scottish Enterprise and many small private shareholders.
The funding will be used to advance the company's lead product candidate, EBX-102-02, through a Phase 2 clinical trial in IBS in partnership with the Functional Gut Clinic. On Wednesday the company announced that the first patient in those UK trials has been dosed with the capsule treatment which is made in Scotland.
Money will also be used to progress a pipeline of treatments for other conditions linked to a disrupted gut microbiome, including liver cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy.
Dr McIlroy set up the business while a medical student at the University of Aberdeen. In 2022 the company opened a new 20,000sq ft manufacturing lab in Bellshill, and it also has laboratory space at BioCity in Motherwell.
“EnteroBiotix has been steadily growing its operations over the past three years," he said. "Presently, the company has around 50 dedicated employees who split their time between various facilities depending on operational requirements."
Last year the company appointed former Merck executive Elmar Schnee as executive chairman, followed earlier this year by the appointment of Dr James Barnes as chief operating officer and Chris Lea as chief financial officer.
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“This significant new investment helps enable our vision of transforming the standard of care for patients suffering from serious conditions linked to the gut microbiome," Dr McIlroy said. "It will help accelerate the development of our innovative product pipeline and propels us towards our goal of bringing these innovative treatments to market.
"We look forward to working closely with our new partners at [SNIB] and with our existing investors to bring this vision to fruition, for the benefit of patients across the globe.”
IBS is a chronic relapsing functional gastro-intestinal disorder, with patients experiencing a range of symptoms such as chronic abdominal pain, cramping, bloating and change in bowel movements – which may include constipation, diarrhoea, or both.
It is estimated that up to one in eight people suffer from IBS-type symptoms, and there is approximately an equal split between patients experiencing predominantly constipation (IBS-C) versus diarrhoea (IBS-D). IBS is deemed to be a significant healthcare and economic burden, with productivity loss the main contributor.
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