Concept to Company
Reflecting upon the enormous opportunity of innovation in EngBio, and the growing pressure for the UK to become a global leader in it.
Nurturing global leaders in EngBio
By Lucy McGowan, Innovation Manager at Science Creates
Following the successful completion of a second Engineering Biology Accelerator Programme, Lucy McGowan reflects upon the enormous opportunity of innovation in this space, and the growing pressure for the UK to become a global leader in it.
So you’re a synthetic biologist. You’ve spent countless hours in the lab. The orbital incubator swills your bacterial cultures in the background with a familiar rumble and squeak. Clone, rinse, repeat. But this feels like it’s going somewhere. The metaphorical light bulb illuminates in your head as you think “I just might actually have something here. This could be more than a paper”. You’re at a crossroads. What now?
A breakthrough in engineering biology (EngBio) is just the beginning. According to Failory, nine out of ten startups fail. Scientific founders must learn to navigate the known knowns, the known unknowns and even the unknown unknowns of their company — they need support to thrive. Fortunately, the UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology recently named EngBio as one of five critical technologies to be made a national priority. A subsequent surge in public funding has led to a groundswell in EngBio opportunities, meaning there’s never been a better time to commercialise research in this space.
At Science Creates, we believe that scientists make great entrepreneurs; we exist to support founders who strive to solve the world’s biggest issues through Deep Tech. That’s why in 2023, we partnered with UKRI to successfully deliver a unique Engineering Biology Accelerator Programme. Our accelerator is the first of its kind and currently the only UK-wide programme tailored to EngBio.
SynBio vs EngBio
Over a century ago, the term synthetic biology emerged for the first time. Flash through to the present — we have seen the discovery of the DNA helix, genetic engineering, CRISPR and mRNA technologies. These discoveries radically redefined the term, now encompassing a pioneering field which has exploded over the past two decades. Synthetic biology considers the living world in its component parts; through clever design these parts can be reorganised and rearranged synthetically to create novel inventions.
The subdiscipline of engineering biology (EngBio) has evolved to distil the ever expanding streams of synthetic biology research into scalable and innovative technologies — EngBio is where synthetic biology meets the real world. Through its industrial scale, EngBio has the potential to solve many of our greatest challenges in climate, health and food security. If you can think it, EngBio can probably achieve it. The UK is a hotbed for emerging technologies in this field, with new solutions being discovered continuously. The problem is that many of these technologies, and the people capable of scaling them into real-world solutions, are trapped in the lab.
Acceleration with purpose
We know there isn’t a step-by-step recipe to start a Deep Tech company; the journey is unique for every founder. There is a wealth of different accelerators out there and, with time precious and funding scarce, it’s hard to select which ones are right for you. We keep ours simple: our accelerator is fully funded, EngBio focussed, tailored to your needs and, crucially, takes no equity from the companies who join. We put founders in the driving seat.
We believe great people are at the heart of any successful business and Deep Tech is no exception. Therefore, a core principle of Science Creates is that we always work with partners who have a wealth of experience in their respective fields, preparing founders with the best possible expertise. Candidates on the programme are supported by a dedicated team working alongside eight delivery partners and are connected to a wider network of over 40 active member companies and 12 strategic partners, including a UK-first partnership with Thermo Fisher Scientific. Our flagship accelerator is also supported through unique partnerships with a network of globally-leading VCs, helping founders to explore the best investor fit for their early-stage companies, without giving VCs rights of first refusal to invest.
Through the framework of our nine-week accelerator, founders refine their IP strategy, technology roadmap, fundraising plan, pitching skills and company brand. Our accelerator also invests heavily in personal development via psychometric assessment, workshops, one-to-ones and follow-ups with qualified leadership psychologists.
While used interchangeably in the startup world, at Science Creates we define accelerators as short-term, intensive programmes to quickly advance the stage of a business by providing expert training, mentoring and support, with potential options to receive follow-on funding. Our incubators are facilities designed to give longer-term support to early-stage Deep Tech startups, meaning access to lab, office and event spaces that exist within Science Creates’ wider ecosystem of support.
A UK-wide spread of EngBio founders means taking a UK-wide approach to recruitment. Science Creates has hosted roadshows in five of the UK’s leading regions for EngBio, giving prospective applicants an insight into what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in the field. As well as uniting communities of future EngBio founders with their local innovation support services, the roadshows host inspiring panel discussions and provide authentic insights from the perspective of successful EngBio founders and VCs.
Our roadshows set out to find the most ambitious and innovative early-stage EngBio founders across the UK — and we found them. Cohort 1.0 comprised a highly diverse group of 23 founders, with a further 20 making up Cohort 2.0. Candidates range from entrepreneurial master’s graduates to experienced principal investigators and everything in between. Collectively, they are attempting to tackle a huge range of global issues, with their innovative technology spanning across the four pillars of EngBio: biomedicine, clean growth, food systems and environmental solutions.
Accelerator graduates who found an EngBio company unlock the exclusive opportunity to apply for up to £50k of equity-free, follow-on feasibility funding from UKRI, to support the ongoing development of their business. The flexible nature of the programme encourages candidates to seek and apply for funding relevant to their company throughout, to maximise their runway post-programme. Graduate companies also return for the Science Creates Showcase event, with selected founders winning the opportunity to pitch to a room of investors.
Since September 2023, the accelerator has supported 42 entrepreneurial scientists and a total of 35 EngBio companies across two cohorts, with half of those companies being formed during or shortly after the programme. Within just 18 months, graduates have raised at least £3.8 million in equity investment, as well as more than £2.1 milion in grant and competition funding. These figures continue to climb as companies grow their headcount, develop their technologies and gain increased exposure over time.
The outlook for EngBio entrepreneurs
The appetite for EngBio is growing exponentially. In December 2023, the Conservative Government announced its National Vision for Engineering Biology, pledging £2 billion in funding over the next decade. Whilst the new Labour Government is yet to commit to this figure, it has indicated that EngBio will continue to be a major priority for the UK. The recent publication of the House of Lords’ inquiry into EngBio places pressure on leaders to provide a full pipeline of support that can not just catalyse the formation of earlystage spinouts or startups, but also enable and retain high-growth scaleups. This will require long-term investment, a commitment to train skilled workers, industrial-scale infrastructure and regulation that’s fit for the future.
EngBio has the potential to become a multitrillion dollar global market, as well as positively reimagine our outlook on society’s biggest challenges in health, food security and the environment. The UK is primed to become an international leader in EngBio. As the field grows, so will the next generation of EngBio founders. These founders will require continuous and dynamic support at all stages — from inception to scaling and exiting — for their companies to succeed.
Our accelerator demonstrates that a relatively small amount of public funding at a critical early stage can go a long way towards helping companies gain momentum, attract larger-scale investment and grow quickly.
Over the next decade, many more scientists will take the leap, defining the new era of EngBio. Science Creates’ thriving ecosystem is ready to accelerate the upcoming surge of ambitious EngBio founders to translate their discoveries into living, breathing businesses. Will you be one of them?
The Science Creates Engineering Biology Accelerator was fully funded by UKRI. The first programme ran from September 2023 - November 2023. The second programme ran from June 2024 - August 2024.
Submit your expression of interest to join Cohort 3 of our Engineering Biology Accelerator by 31 July.
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