Scottish Biotech company secures £2.2m to accelerate rapid disease detection technology
Dairy industry to benefit from ‘on farm’ system for rapid treatment of infected cattle
Issued on behalf of Biotangents by Wave PR Ltd.
Biotangents, a Scottish biotechnology business, has secured £2.2m of new funding made up from £1.6m from the UK Government’s Innovate UK innovation loans programme and a further £600k from a funding round lead by the investment syndicate Kelvin Capital and with Scottish Enterprise participation to support the development and roll-out of its ‘on farm’ rapid disease detection technology.
The company also secured £1.2m in August 2021 in a successful funding round also led by Kelvin Capital, following an initial £1.5m in May 2019. Kelvin Capital represents private investors in the UK, Europe, and the USA.
The business has also confirmed the appointment of Fiona Marshall as CEO and Ross McDermid as Director of Commercialisation to the company’s Board. Both have successful commercial careers in the animal health and veterinary sectors and strengthen the existing Board and senior management team. In addition, Professor Richard Hammond has joined the Board as Non-Exec Director. *see notes to editors.
Biotangents’ Isothermal technology can be applied to the rapid detection of a wide range of diseases in Animal Health including Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD) and Mastitis. The award winning AmpliSpec™ Mastitis diagnostic test will dramatically cut the detection time for Mastitis from the current period of several days to just a few hours.
Current Mastitis testing requires a sample to be sent to an external laboratory whereas Biotangents’ new technology will provide a specific pathogen diagnosis that can be carried out immediately, either on the farm or in a veterinary clinic, enabling rapid and targeted treatment for infected cattle.
Mastitis currently costs the global farming industry up to £23bn each year, and the average dairy farm in the UK anywhere between £7,000 and £25,000 per year. The financial costs of failing to diagnose BVD early can cost farmers up to £470 per animal, and it is responsible for £61m of losses each year in the UK alone. Key milk producing regions globally encounter productivity challenges due to mastitis and Biotangents plan to make this technology available globally.
Ian Hamilton, Chairman at Biotangents and holder of several senior positions within the agricultural industry said: “Rapid diagnosis on the farm and in the veterinary clinic is a step change in the treatment and prevention of Mastitis and the consequent improvement in animal husbandry. Critically it allows vets to promptly decide on the most effective treatment programme including the correct antibiotic to be administered and length of treatment period, and lets farmers implement prompt procedures to minimise further infection within the herd.”
Fiona Marshall, CEO at Biotangents said: “In addition to our forthcoming lab based AmpliSpec ™ BVD and Mastitis products, the new funding will enable the next phase of our product development delivering our new AmpliSpec™ platform directly to the veterinary and farming sectors. Beyond Mastitis further assays will be developed for use on this platform. We all know that the financial impact of Mastitis is significant but it also has a huge impact on animal welfare and sustainability. The platform will provide accurate diagnosis between milking allowing the Vet and Farmer to quickly determine the most appropriate treatment for each individual cow, including specific antibiotic treatment. We recognise the positive impact this will have on antimicrobial resistance, ultimately reducing antibiotic usage.”
John McNicol, director of Kelvin Capital said: “We have supported Biotangents since 2017 and are delighted to continue that and welcome the strengthening of the existing operational team and the company’s Board. This disruptive technology will bring additional benefits to the global dairy sector and wider AgriTech sector because rapid diagnostic technology brings financial benefits to farmers and dramatically improves animal welfare.”
Kerry Sharp, Director of Entrepreneurship and Investment at Scottish Enterprise said: “Scotland is globally renowned for its strengths in life sciences, owing that reputation in part to innovative biotechnology businesses such as Biotangents. Working alongside companies in this sector to progress ground-breaking diagnostics technology, and in turn investing in Scotland’s wider rural economy, is a priority for Scottish Enterprise. We are delighted to support Biotangents on their journey taking their product range from Scottish laboratory to new international markets.”
Biotangents’ AmpliSpec™ Mastitis diagnostic test was selected by an international panel of experts as the winner of the ‘Production Animal’ Animal Health Innovation Award 2021 at Animal Health Innovation Europe, one of the most prestigious awards in the industry.
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Issued on behalf of Biotangents by Wave PR Ltd. For further information please contact Jonathan Kennedy on 07799-768968 or at jonathan@wavepr.co.uk
Contact Information
Wendy Fleming
Notes to editors
Biotangents is based at the Pentlands Science Park just outside Edinburgh and was founded in 2015 by Dr Andy Hall-Ponselè and Lina Gasiūnaitė to apply the expertise they had developed in gene technologies to improve the sustainability of traditional industries. This led them to invent Moduleic Sensing™, a patented diagnostic technology that has the potential to be used across multiple sectors including human healthcare and environmental monitoring.
Kelvin Capital Ltd is a Scottish based, private investment syndicate, with over 300 UK wide angel investors and a diverse portfolio of 22 investee companies having made investments of over £80million to date.
The Kelvin Capital team have an extensive knowledge of the early-stage investment market, with over 40 years of experience internally. Kelvin Capital also has a strong, international network of industry professionals and experts who we target to support our rigorous due diligence process and to support companies with the strategic delivery of their plan.
Scottish Enterprise is Scotland's national economic development agency. We’re committed to growing the Scottish economy for the benefit of all, helping create more quality jobs and a brighter future for every region.
Innovate UK is the UK’s national innovation agency set up to support business-led innovation in all sectors, technologies and UK regions. It helps businesses grow through the development and commercialisation of new products, processes, and services, supported by an outstanding innovation ecosystem that is agile, inclusive, and easy to navigate.
Fiona Marshall - CEO
Fiona has over 15 years working in the diagnostics sector for SME’s and international groups such as Alere, BBI Solutions and AgPlus Diagnostics. She has multidisciplinary skills from R&D through to commercialisation of diagnostic products in various fields such as Clinical, Veterinary and Defence. She has led many businesses from start-up to delivery and combines strong leadership and mentoring skills to support SMEs to grow and scale.
Ross McDermid - Director of Commercialisation
Ross brings over 25 years of sales and marketing experience to the team. After a successful career in design and marketing consultancy, he entered the animal health sector, spending the last 13 years working for a global leader in veterinary technology and distribution services, responsible for a range of commercial activities. Prior to moving to Biotangents, he was head of marketing in Europe, helping them and their animal health customers deliver success.
Professor Richard Hammond - BVetMed BSc (Hons) MMedSci (MedEd) PhD DVA Dipl.ECVAA FHEA FRCVS
Qualifying as a veterinary surgeon in 1991, Richard Hammond has a broad experience across clinical, academic and commercial sectors having previously been a specialist in the area of veterinary anaesthesia and an academic clinician. He was awarded a first-class honours degree in applied biology in 1987, a degree in veterinary medicine in 1991, a PhD in 1999 in the area of biochemical pharmacology and a master’s in medical education in 2012. He holds both Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons (RCVS) and European Diplomas in Veterinary Anaesthesia. As well as having experience of clinical general veterinary practice, Richard has worked as part of the commercial operation of a major pharmaceutical company. Richard was part of the management team that set up the veterinary school at the University of Nottingham where he was also Head of Teaching and Learning. In 2014, Richard took up position as CEO of Langford Vets and in 2016 Richard took up post as Head of School for a fixed term of four years.
In 2020 Richard was awarded a fellowship of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for meritorious contributions to the profession.