A FLEDGLING company which provides biotech companies with microbial testing blocks has hailed raising £1 million to boost the business.
The funding will help University of Edinburgh start-up OGI Bio establish a new laboratory and manufacturing facility, grow the team, and ramp up sales of the company’s automation systems to the microbiology and biotechnology sectors.
The automated device it has developed is said to improve processing capability, cost effectiveness and data analytics thereby facilitating and increasing R&D capability to help accelerate innovation.
TRICAPITAL led the investment round alongside Apollo Informal Investment, Old College Capital, the University of Edinburgh’s in-house venture investment fund, Sapphire Capital Partners in conjunction with Queen’s University Belfast’s QUBIS, Merleview (Capital), and Scottish Enterprise.
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Alex McVey, OGI Bio chief executive and co-founder, said: “Our aim is to ultimately have one of our devices on the bench of every microbiologist and biotechnologist, enabling them to innovate more productively, flexibly, and sustainably.”
The physics graduate from University of Edinburgh and Royal Society of Edinburgh Fellow founded the firm with chief science officer Professor Teuta Pilizota, an internationally renowned expert on microbial physiology and chair of Biophysics at the University of Edinburgh, in 2020, and started shipping its first customer orders this year.
Ms Pilizota said: “Our products can be used by anyone who is growing microbes like bacteria, yeast, and algae, but we are focusing initially on biotech and microbiology companies, and academic research laboratories who are looking to accelerate their own development with low-cost automation and improved analytical tools.”
Moray Martin, of The TRICAPITAL Syndicate LLP, said: “OGI Bio has a world-class leadership team, an exciting product that is already achieving commercial success and coherent and realisable plans to extend its product range. We are delighted to be supporting Alex, Teuta, and the team through its scale up phase."
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