BioIndustry Association (BIA) United Kingdom

Established in 1989, the BIA (BioIndustry Association) exists to encourage and promote a financially sound and thriving bioscience sector within the UK economy and concentrates its efforts on emerging enterprise and the related interests of companies with whom such enterprise trades. 

With over 300 members, the BIA supports a wide range of sectors, majoring on the human health benefits of the technology and represents the interests of these innovative companies to a broad section of stakeholders from patient groups to politicians, advancing its members interests both within the UK and internationally to create a healthy UK bioscience sector which benefits society.

Company type
Mr Alastair Carrington
Business Development Executive 
Mr Steve Bates
CEO 

Hypha Discovery Ltd United Kingdom

Hypha collaborates with pharma/biotech and agrochemical groups in the following areas

1. Production of metabolites of clinical and preclinical stage compounds that are difficult to synthesise using metabolising microbes:
+ mg amounts for MetID, quantification standards
+ gram quantities for tox/pharmacological studies
+ includes glucuronides and chemically intractable hydroxyl derivatives 

Our microbial biotransformation service is also used to improve PK/solubility in hit-to-lead compounds 

2. Niche natural products hit-finding
Licensing access to Hypha's MycoDiverse natural products library. 
+ Used by biotech and pharma to find hit compounds against "difficult-to-hit" targets
+ Molecular weight range mostly between 200 and 400 DA
+ 50% novelty
+ Exclusive rights to develop and commercialise

3. Fermentation and purification of small molecules for semi-synthetic lead optimisation

Dr Liam Evans
CEO 

MGB Biopharma United Kingdom

MGB Biopharma is a private company based in Glasgow, Scotland and is backed by a syndicate of Scotland’s leading angel investor groups together with Scottish Enterprise.

Antimicrobial drug resistance is recognised as a global public health concern with an urgent need for new antibacterial drug classes that are more effective than existing treatments. MGB is developing the first truly novel class of anti-infectives in over a decade that has the potential to treat infections of a number of the most important susceptible and resistant pathogens. Our lead compound has shown strong bactericidal activity with quick onset of action against many strains of Gram-positive bacteria. It has completed pre-clinical development and progress into our phase 1 clinical study for the treatment of Clostridium difficile have been endorsed by the MHRA. Optimisation of a new formulation for intravenous administration and treatment of systemic Gram-positive infection is ongoing.

MGB has acquired exclusive rights to the proprietary minor groove binder platform, developed at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. This platform provides an opportunity to develop additional compounds with the potential to treat Gram-negative, viral, fungal and parasitic infections.

MGB continues to work closely with Strathclyde University to develop the pipeline and is currently seeking partners to help maximise the value-creating opportunities from its broad platform.

Company type
Dr Miroslav Ravic
Mr Raymond Spencer

Sphere Fluidics Ltd United Kingdom

Sphere Fluidics Limited is an innovative Life Sciences company which delivers miniaturised products, systems and collaboration services in field of single cell analysis.

Sphere’s core technology is in the field of high throughput Picodroplet generation and analysis and has significant patent portfolio that protects its core expertise. It enables ultra-high throughput analysis of single cells and generation of their genetic, transcriptomic and proteomic profiles in miniaturised (pl to nl) volumes.  

Uniquely, as well as allowing single cell studies, the systems enable the study of different, large biomolecules that interact with or are secreted by those single cells. The latter application is very powerful as many human biotherapeutics, industrial enzymes (isolated mainly from micro-organisms) and around 15% of the Human Proteome are secreted, so cannot readily be analysed using conventional technology

Sphere Fluidics' technology enables diverse applications such as study of the mechanism of cancer cell resistance to chemotherapy, generation of new enzymes and identification of novel microbial strains.

Sphere Fluidics has established multiple commercial partnerships, received Venture Capital investment and with its founders the Company have received almost £10 million in science and business funding to date.

Company type
Rob Marchmont
Commercial Director 
David Holmes
Principal Engineer