#53 - All aboard the funding flight!
The coffee break biotech roundup, by SomX.
Hello frequent flyers,
This week’s stories are cruising at altitude: the UK bankrolls synthetic genome building from scratch, Brussels pitches a European Nasdaq to keep homegrown science grounded, Portal Biotech raises $35M to tackle proteomics at speed, Wales quietly builds a biotech stronghold, and astronauts aboard the ISS are busy running biotech experiments in zero gravity.
Dodo over and out.
If there’s anything you’d like to see in future editions of Biotech Dodo, send us a message.
Discover 🔍
🧬 Synthetic Human Genome Project gets go ahead (BBC News): The Wellcome Trust has thrown £10M at science's boldest party trick yet, building human chromosomes from scratch! Scientists want to craft disease-resistant cells for patching up the liver, heart, immune system – the works! – offering a window into how our genome maintains and regenerates. Don't panic, though; Kent University’s ethics squad will be working alongside the project team to keep an eye on the moral compass.
Our take: This is whole-chromosome craftsmanship that could reshape how we design therapies, model disease, and approach genetic resilience. But the implications stretch far beyond the petri dish. By investing in a parallel social science arm, Wellcome clearly grasp the real challenge. Building chromosomes is the straightforward bit, but maintaining public trust while doing so? Well, that could be another beast entirely.
📈 EU pharma chief calls for European Nasdaq to boost biotech innovation (Euronews): Stefan Oelrich, Bayer's pharma president and freshly minted EU lobby chief, is banging the drum for Europe's wonky capital markets. He's championing a European Nasdaq to stop homegrown biotech relocating to Silicon Valley. His remarks came as Brussels unveiled its Life Sciences Strategy to revive Europe as a biotech hub. The strategy acknowledges Europe's widening VC gap and blames fragmented markets and bank loan reliance.
Our take: Europe keeps handing off its science just as it becomes valuable. An equity-driven financing system could help anchor companies during the riskiest stretch – as they transition from research to commercial applications – when capital is scarce and technical failure still looms. A biotech focused stock market could enhance investment, retain innovation and build financial scaffolding that reflects the realities of drug development, rather than reshaping companies to fit the wrong markets.
⚛️ London's startup Portal Biotech raises $35M for its proteomics platform (Vestbee): The London startup has bagged a hefty Series A round led by NATO Innovation Fund and Earlybird for its full-length, single-molecule protein sequencing wizardry. Portal plans to splash the cash on R&D expansion, beefing up engineering and data science teams, and fast-tracking product launch. The funding will also fuel partnerships with pharma giants, boost market infrastructure, and enhance biosecurity applications for real-time proteome analysis.
Our take: Most diseases boil down to proteins behaving badly. But while genomics has already undergone decades of cost-slashing, protein analysis remains stuck with clunky mass spectrometry that's expensive, chops proteins into fragments, and is about as portable as a small car. Portal's nanopore approach reads proteins intact, catching these troublemakers in the act – crucial when you need to understand how altered proteins cause disease.
🏴 Life sciences in Wales: biotechs in the scene in 2025 (Labiotech): Wales has quietly built a buzzing biotech ecosystem outside the South East's golden triangle. The sector's £2.62B turnover is a maturing pipeline of scrappy startups backed by local initiatives and government coffers. The model spans Cardiff, Swansea, and rural Wales, with a foundation rooted in university research and accelerators. Key themes include proteomics (Antiverse), budget diagnostics (Amped), and jellyfish materials (Jellagen) – talk about varied!
Our take: Wales hasn’t relied on poster-child biotechs to make its mark. It’s done the slower work – building mid-scale infrastructure, linking startups to NHS frameworks, and tailoring public funding to early-stage needs and health system integration. Steering innovation towards real clinical gaps attracts funders looking for impact, not just returns. The result is quietly coherent and refreshingly self-sustaining.
And finally…
🚀 Brain, cancer, and biotech top science schedule as cargo craft departs (NASA): The International Space Station crews from Expedition 73 and Axiom Mission 4 have been busy little space bees, tackling everything from brain blood flow in weightlessness to cancer cell behaviour studies. They're also poking at tardigrades (those indestructible water bears) to see how they survive microgravity's harsh embrace, plus researching nanomaterials for wearable health monitors.
Our take: Space research is more than just novelty science. Microgravity naturally creates those 3D cancer models that cost a fortune to build on Earth, while tardigrades offer insights into stress-resistant biologics for startups to explore. Brain circulation studies could improve neurovascular disease models, and astronaut-grade nanosensors have clear potential for continuous health monitoring applications. If launch costs continue to decrease, the R&D calendar may begin to include more orbital experiments.
Tune in 🎧
🐝 The Biotech Start-Up Making Vaccines for Bees and Shrimp: Learn more about the biotech which developed the first bee vaccine and is now tackling shrimp health, plus what it takes to fundraise when your patients don’t speak.
🧪 Godfather of Synthetic Bio on De-aging, De-Extinction, & Weaponised Mirror Life: Join the godfather of synthetic biology for a wild ride through de-extinction, programmable organisms and the risks of engineered life – all powered by plummeting DNA costs and multiplex science.
🧬 Huge advances in cancer and rare diseases: 25 years of the human genome: What has a quarter-century of genomic science delivered? From cancer breakthroughs to rare disease treatments, this episode explores what held up – and what lies ahead.
Apply ✍️
🧫 Technical Sales and Applications Specialist - Cell and Gene Therapy, Sartorius: Know your CAR-Ts from your T-flasks? Help cell and gene therapy labs get the most from Sartorius tech with hands-on demos, method development and expert troubleshooting.
📊 Director, Business Development, EMEA, Commercial Biotech, IQVIA: Can you connect dots from pipeline to portfolio? Lead strategic sales working with C-suite teams to position IQVIA’s full suite of data, tech and consulting solutions.
🧠 Principal / Senior Data Scientist, Wellcome Sanger: Can you teach an AI to decode DNA? Build generative models on massive genomic datasets to uncover the rules of transcription and help shape the future of synthetic biology.
RSVP 📆
🥐 8-9.07 | RAISE Summit | Paris, France: For professionals seeking to build and connect in the AI landscape. This is the ultimate destination for validating AI strategies and finding partners.
🇯🇵 9-11.07 | BioPharma Expo Tokyo | Tokyo, Japan: Asia’s flagship bio-manufacturing expo spanning R&D, engineering and CDMO/CMO services for the pharma and cosmetics sectors.
🇬🇧 10.07 | Digital Technology and AI – The Future for Pharmacy and Medicines Usage | London, UK: A one-day forum uniting NHS pharmacists and technicians to explore AI-driven prescribing, decision support and medicines optimisation across primary and secondary care.
We’re SomX – a communications and creative agency trusted by biotech, pharma and healthtech pioneers. We craft strategy, content, PR and design that translate complex biology into compelling stories and investor‑ready excitement. Get in touch to amplify your science beyond the lab bench.