Bio-start announces the 15 companies that will be joining the UK's first Synthetic Biology accelerator programme

Rainbow Seed Fund is proud to sponsor the UK’s first Synthetic Biology accelerator programme announced by Bio-start. Companies have applied from all over the UK to enter the 10 week intensive programme of high-quality mentorship, entrepreneurial training & workshops, with access to a global network of customers and opportunities.

The 15 companies selected to take part in Bio-start reflect the unique diversity present in one of the most exciting and innovative startup sectors in the UK. All the companies are deploying engineering biology to deliver transformation across many different applications and sectors. The companies in the first Bio-start cohort include startups from England, Scotland and Ireland and spinouts from Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Imperial College, Newcastle and Oxford Universities.

All of the companies are now competing for the following prizes.

• First place: £100k cash prize and ~£100k cash equivalent including 6 months’ free use of laboratory space at any of the sponsoring incubators, a ten-week accelerator programme with mentorship, consumables and other professional services.
• Second place: £15k cash from Rainbow Seed Fund and space in any of the sponsoring incubators for six months.
• Special prizes:
  • £10k cash and IP fees from Imperial Innovations for best idea from an Imperial College based team.
  • 6-months free lab space from UnitDX Science Incubator for the best Bristol based team in the competition

Colorifix	Eco-friendly, sustainable, biologically derived textile dyes
Customem	Bio-filtration of micro-pollutants found in industrial waste
Biotangents	Rapid diagnostic tests for critical animal healthcare
Entomics Biosystems	High value bio-products from food waste
EnzBond	Novel biocatalysts for chemical production
Essential Diagnostics	Accessible point of care testing for infections
Helixworks Technologies	Molecular DNA data storage
IDRIS	Bio-design of novel diagnostics and therapeutic antibodies
LabGenius	Novel biomaterials
Linear Diagnostics	Diagnostic tests for antimicrobial resistant strains
Nuclera Nucleics	DNA synthesis
Phytoform Labs	Horticultural plant breeding
Quethera	Gene therapy for critical unmet medical needs
VideraBio	Harnessing the productivity of microbial cell factories
Zentraxa	Peptide production