Bristol biotech raises £4.5m for vaccine transport system

Bristol-based EnsiliTech has raised its second oversubscribed funding round, securing £4.5m in seed funding to improve how life-saving medicines are stored and delivered worldwide.

The company’s Ensilication process allows medicines to withstand temperatures up to 50°C.

The funding will speed up proof-of-concept adoption for both existing and new biopharmaceuticals, expand capacity through new hires and upgraded infrastructure, and fund critical validation studies needed to embed Ensilication into pharmaceutical manufacturing.

The World Health Organization estimates that in developing countries up to 50 per cent of vaccines are lost due to cold-chain breakdowns – refrigerated transport and storage often fail.

Dr Asel Sartbaeva, co-founder and chief executive of EnsiliTech. said: “Our mission is to ensure that life-saving medicines and vaccines reach everyone, everywhere, regardless of infrastructure or geography.

“By eliminating the need for refrigeration, our technology significantly reduces supply-chain costs and drug waste, while also lowering the environmental impact of pharmaceutical distribution.

“This investment is a major step forward for the team, and we’re thrilled to have the backing of partners who share our vision for a more equitable and sustainable future in global healthcare.”

Ensilication applies tiny layers of inorganic material to biological materials such as vaccines and antibodies, creating an individual, tailored protective coat.

The process uses silica – the material from which sand is made – to keep the medicine stable outside refrigeration. Silica is biocompatible, inert and low cost.

When ready to use, the coating cracks open and falls away, leaving the medicine in its pure, functional form.

Current pharmaceutical cold chains cost the industry an estimated £26bn each year in losses and continue to limit access in regions without reliable refrigeration.

The round was led by Eos Advisory with follow-on investment from Calculus Capital.

Other participants included Empirical Ventures, Fink Family Office, QantX, Angel Investors Bristol, HERmesa, Penn Park Capital, chANGELS, and individual angels.

Anne Muir, director of portfolio at Eos, said: “EnsiliTech has the technology to transform how vaccines and other therapeutics are transported and stored.

“Reducing wastage, reducing cost and vastly improving health outcomes across the globe, this kind of science and this scale of potential sits at the core of our investment thesis at Eos.”