James McIlroy, medical student and entrepreneur, has secured £500,000 funding for his biotechnology company, EnteroBiotix
James McIlroy, medical student and entrepreneur, has secured £500,000 funding for his biotechnology company, EnteroBiotix
A biotechnology company started by a University of Aberdeen medical student and focused on using the body's own micro-organisms to prevent and treat disease has raised £500,000 in funding.
James McIroy started EnteroBiotix to allow patients with a C. diff infection in the gut to receive a highly effective, but currently difficult to access, treatment through the NHS.
The financing was led by Equity Gap and supported by the Scottish Investment Bank, the investment arm of Scottish Enterprise.
The cash injection will be used to further develop the company’s product pipeline and grow its manufacturing and research team.
The staff at the University of Aberdeen have been so helpful in getting us to this stage. I really can't thank them enough. Other students here with business ideas will find all the resource and advice they need to bring their concepts to fruition."
James, who has recently returned to his studies to finish his fifth year of medical school, said: “This investment and grant funding will be pivotal in furthering the objectives of EnteroBiotix. We are excited to work with Equity Gap and Scottish Enterprise as we build EnteroBiotix into a dominant player this fast-moving field of science and medicine.
“The staff at the University of Aberdeen have been so helpful in getting us to this stage, in particular those at the medical school who have been incredibly supportive and accommodating. I really can’t thank them enough. Other students here with business ideas will find all the resource and advice they need to bring their concepts to fruition.”
About EnteroBiotix
EnteroBiotix is an award-winning, patient-centered biotechnology company focused on using the body’s own microorganisms to prevent and treat debilitating infections and diseases. The Company’s lead product candidate is an orally administered microbial therapy for use in a medical treatment called Faecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT). EnteroBiotix is using its manufacturing platform to develop allogenic (from a donor) and autologous (using a person’s own bacteria) orally delivered therapies, using standardised, quality controlled and quantifiable processes. EnteroBiotix recently came first place in the 2017 Oxford Biostars biotechnology competition, and the company has established several high-profile collaborations with commercial and academic partners.