Bath company raises £1.2m to help with pioneering vaccine research

A start-up company in Bath which has developed technology which will make it easier move and store vaccines has raised £1.2m in seed funding.

Bath University spin-out EnsiliTech is developing a pioneering refrigeration-free approach to transporting vaccines and other pharmaceuticals.

The company’s patented technology – ensilication – can be applied to both existing and new biopharmaceuticals to make them safe and stable at room temperatures.

Most vaccines need to be stored at sub-zero temperatures, and some – such as the new mRNA Covid-19 vaccine – must be kept at ultra-low temperatures.

This funding round was led by Science Angel Syndicate and the Fink Family Office with co-investment from QantX, Elbow Beach Capital, angel investors and Innovate UK.

The investment will be used to establish proof-of-concept and preclinical validation with selected animal vaccines and antibodies, as well as advancing commercial partnerships leading to future licensing opportunities of this platform technology.

Co-founder and chief executive of EnsiliTech, Dr Asel Sartbaeva said: “Our goal is to make the transportation of vaccines and other life-saving biological materials more efficient and cost-effective, while also reducing the carbon footprint of this critical supply chain.

“We are thrilled to have the support of our investors as we work towards this mission.”

Co-founder of Science Angel Syndicate, Dr Johnathan Matlock said: “EnsiliTech has a unique platform that is applicable to a broad range of vaccines and other biologics that could revolutionise how we think about the distribution of these important therapeutics.

“Asel and Aswin and the rest of the EnsiliTech team have deep expertise in inorganic silica chemistry that gives them a unique edge. Supported by strong proof-of-concept data across a range of potential assets, EnsiliTech is well positioned to engage with industry partners even at this early stage of their life cycle.”

Biological products are shipped and stored using a 50-year-old global network of refrigerators and freezers known as the ‘cold chain’.

With an annual running cost of £28bn, the network is expensive to operate and prone to failure, leading to significant levels of spoilage and waste.

According to the World Health Organisation, around 50 per cent of vaccines spoil and must be discarded as a result of such failures, denying millions of people around the world access to potentially life-saving products.

Commenting, Lord Stanley Fink said: “The Fink Family office is proud to invest in EnsiliTech and our seventh female founder, Asel. When validated and put to use, EnsiliTech’s technology has the potential to be used to deliver much needed vaccines and other treatments to Africa, rural Asia and large parts of the world that don’t have the infrastructure to cope with the Mobile Cold Storage required for many modern treatments, not forgetting the huge cost savings on refrigeration that currently cost the Pharmaceutical industry many billions of pounds a year.

“There will also be a huge carbon saving for the planet as cold storage and transportation is a major contributor to carbon emissions”.

Using ensilication, tiny layers of an inorganic material are applied to the vaccine or other biological material to render it stable outside the fridge or freezer.

The technology uses silica – the material sand is made from – to create individual, protective ‘cages’ around the active ingredients. These cages keep the biological material within it intact, meaning its properties won’t change regardless of variations in outside temperature or humidity.

Silica is biocompatible, inert and cheap. When the vaccine or other biological material is ready to be administered, the silica cage cracks open and falls away, leaving the active ingredient in its pure, safe, fully functional form.