Scottish biotechnology centre hands out £3m in grants to develop synthetic biology
Scottish Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre (IBioIC) has announced over £3 million (€3.3m) of investment across six synthetic biology projects, including a biofuels/biochemicals manufacturer.
Twist Bioscience with University of Edinburgh was granted £500,000 to engineer yeast strains for fuels and pharmaceuticals.
With its expertise in DNA, Twist Bioscience will be collaborating with the Edinburgh University Genome Foundry over two years to generate a set of genetic building blocks for yeast.
The project will deliver new commercial tools for the engineering of yeast to produce a variety of chemicals, including biofuels.
Ingenza, with University of Glasgow, also received £490,000 to develop technology to standardise biotechnology processes.
Working over 18 months, the partners will develop a technology to monitor biotechnology experiments in real time.
The technology will enable the challenging task of bioprocess optimisation to be achieved much more efficiently and will benefit a wide variety of bioprocesses.
The grant recipients also include Synpromics (£680,000 to enable gene therapy), Lucite International (£430,000 to increase the sustainability of Perspex and Lucite acrylics), Unilever (£450,000 to create “greener” skin cleansers), and Nissan Chemicals (£410,000 to produce bio-pigments for use in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals, and cosmetics).
‘Synthetic biology high on the agenda’
Earlier this year IBioIC launched a funding call for projects in synthetic biology, which called for companies anywhere in the world to collaborate with Scottish academics.
Ian Archer, technical director of IBioIC, said: “With the global synthetic biology market estimated to grow by more than 40% by the end of the decade, it is no wonder that synthetic biology is high on the agenda of organisations worldwide.
“We’re proud to be accelerating innovation in the area and of the academic capabilities Scotland can offer the world.”
The synthetic biology market is expected to reach $38.7 billion globally by 2020 according to Allied Market Research.
Some of its achievements include the invention of leather that has been grown without needing to breed cows, building materials made from mushrooms, yeasts which can generate more alcohol, medical diagnosis kits, and personalised medicine.
By innovating advanced manufacturing processes, synthetic biology can also help generate more sustainable and affordable materials, chemicals, and energy.
IBioIC exists to provide a focal point that connects academic expertise with industrial capabilities in the area
The grants will be formally announced in the upcoming 9th European Forum for Industrial Biotechnology and the Bioeconomy (EFIB) in Glasgow on 18-20 October.
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