EnteroBiotix has rounded up $21.5 million in a series A financing to advance a pipeline of drugs targeting the microbiome, which is believed to play a role in overall health.
With the capital, the Scottish biopharmaceutical company will advance its pipeline for multiple disease areas to enhance the gut microbiome, the company announced Sept. 7. The funding round was led by Scottish investment firm Thairm Bio with investments from Scottish Enterprise, SIS Ventures and U.S.-based Kineticos Ventures.
EnteroBiotix will expand its headcount to 50 with the funds and grow its product development and in-house manufacturing capabilities, the news release said.
Established in 2017, EnteroBiotix is just one of many companies that has emerged to hunt for new medicines that might impact the microbiome. From 2015 to 2020, venture capitalists poured $1 billion into microbiome startups, according to Crunchbase.
The biotech has also established a subsidiary operation called Number 2, which gathers and tests donated intestinal microbiome material to make its microbiome therapeutics.
Disruptions of the gut microbiome have been linked to various diseases and conditions. Microbiome-based medicines can be used to target various diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease and C. difficile infection.