6 November 2013
Entrepreneurial scientists in the engineering biology space can benefit from a new £10M investment fund that opens for business today. The new fund will help companies in the early stages of their journey towards sustainability, through investment, strategic support and leveraging private capital.
The engineering biology fund will be managed by Birmingham-based private investment specialists Midven through its association with the long-established UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund, which provides kick-starting finance to technology start-up companies that evolve (or 'spin-out') from publicly-funded research.
The investment has been allocated to the fund by the Biotechnology and Biological Science Research Council (BBSRC) in response to the 2012 Engineering Biology Roadmap, which sets out plans to harness opportunities in this area.
Science Minister David Willetts said: "Small businesses make up 99 per cent of all businesses in this country. They are a vital driver of our economy’s success, and business-led innovation in this sector will ensure that the UK remains at the forefront of the global science race. It is imperative we do all we can to ensure businesses don’t just survive, but thrive."
Dr Andrew Muir, a director of Midven, said: "This is a significant move and potentially hugely beneficial for a burgeoning sector. We are excited by the UK's strength in the field of engineering biology and believe there is potential to build world-class companies in the UK. While the Fund aims to make a financial return on investment, we are willing to take risks by investing at the earliest stages and to hold our investments longer than a typical venture fund. We are in a great position to provide capital and other assistance to grow companies that would otherwise struggle to get off of the ground. It’s the experience, knowledge and strategy – as well as the investment – that affords firms the opportunity to partner with us as a route to growth."
Dr Celia Caulcott, BBSRC’s Executive Director, Innovation & Skills, said: "For engineering biology to deliver benefits to society we need to translate basic research into useful products, tools and services. It is notoriously hard for early stage companies to do this because of difficulties moving from an establishment phase towards sustainability. The first round of finance is always the hardest to find and this new fund provides a solution."
Long-term development programmes and the difficulty of raising finance conspire to hamper progress in the early stages of a company’s development. This has resulted in the phrase ‘Valley of Death’ being a common term for the road to commercialisation. This investment aims to bridge the valley offering support to help businesses stand on their own.
Midven is perfectly placed to manage the fund; the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund is already supported by several Research Councils and has a long and established track record of success.
Over the past decade the UKI2S Seed Fun has: leveraged over £150 million of private investment from just £7 million of its own investment (a ratio of over £20 for every £1 from UKI2S); supported 29 technology start-up companies (in sectors such as health, environmental services, international development, and security and defence); and bolstered the UK’s exports (between 75% and 100% of sales in UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund companies are overseas and helped create employment today of 172 high value technology-related jobs).
Core partners in the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund include BBSRC, The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the Natural Environment Research Council and the Science and Technology Facilities Council.
