Microbiotica, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has announced the first close of a £36 million (US$48 million) Series C financing round. The financing was led by the British Business Bank, with participation from Tencent, IP Group, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Flerie Invest, and Seventure Partners, along with all existing Series B investors. The new capital will support the advancement of MB310 into Phase 2 clinical development for ulcerative colitis, following positive results from the COMPOSER-1 Phase 1b study.
Advancing MB310 into Phase 2
MB310 is a once-daily oral capsule composed of a consortium of eight specific live gut commensal bacterial strains. Its differentiated mechanism promotes gut epithelial barrier repair and delivers anti-inflammatory effects, directly addressing key drivers of disease. The randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled Phase 2 study will seek to confirm earlier results that demonstrated statistically significant improvements in clinical remission versus placebo.
Clinical Need in Ulcerative Colitis
Ulcerative colitis is the most common form of inflammatory bowel disease and affects up to 5 million people globally. Many patients do not achieve or maintain remission with available treatments, highlighting the need for new therapeutic approaches. In the Phase 1b study, MB310 also showed disease modifying potential through improvements in histological measures and markers of intestinal epithelial barrier integrity.
Investor Confidence and Strategic Support
Carmine Circelli, Senior Investment Director for Life Sciences at the British Business Bank, said the firm believes Microbiotica is emerging as a world leader in microbiome therapeutics. He noted that the Phase 1b study produced statistically significant clinical remission and best in disease potential with no safety issues. Circelli added that the funding enables the company to move MB310 into a Phase 2 trial that could become a major breakthrough for ulcerative colitis.
Platform and Pipeline Expansion
Spun out of the Wellcome Sanger Institute in 2016, Microbiotica operates a genomics-driven microbiome platform that combines a diverse culture collection, a proprietary human Reference Genome Database, advanced bioinformatics, and machine learning. The platform uses clinical trial datasets to precisely identify bacteria associated with favorable outcomes in specific patient populations, informing strain selection for therapeutic development. The company is also advancing MB097 in combination with KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) for advanced melanoma, with emerging Phase 1b data showing encouraging results.
Executive Commentary
Dr Sam Williams, Venture Partner at IP Group, said the investor has been impressed by Microbiotica's progress from translating pioneering microbiome science into a powerful platform that has generated promising efficacy in two Phase 1b trials. He noted the important opportunity to advance the precision microbiome approach into a larger clinical study and expressed IP Group's continued support. Chief Executive Officer Tim Sharpington added that the financing reflects significant progress in translating the platform into clinical-stage products and scalable manufacturing.
Partnerships and Manufacturing Progress
Microbiotica has established research and clinical partnerships with MSD, Cancer Research UK, Genentech, The University of Adelaide, and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The company has also developed a scalable and cost-effective manufacturing process for its live biotherapeutic products. These capabilities support both the planned Phase 2 trial for MB310 and the broader pipeline of immuno-oncology programs.
With the first close of its Series C round, Microbiotica is positioned to advance MB310 into a larger clinical study that may confirm its potential as a breakthrough treatment for ulcerative colitis. The company's clinical-data led approach, supported by a proprietary genomics platform and established partnerships, underpins its pipeline across gastroenterology and immuno-oncology. Investors and leadership view the next phase as an important step in translating microbiome science into differentiated medicines for patients with significant unmet needs.