Microbiotica's $45M Raise: A Gut Check for IBD Treatment

Jan de Vries · 2026-10-16

Microbiotica, a British biopharma company, just closed a $45 million Series C round. That's a big deal for a company developing precision microbiome medicines. But what does it mean for the future of inflammatory bowel disease treatment? Let's break it down. ### The Funding Round The round was led by British Business Bank, with participation from Tencent, IP Group, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Flerie Invest, and Seventure Partners. All existing Series B investors joined in, which says a lot about their confidence in the company's direction. Tim Sharpington, Microbiotica's CEO, sees this as a turning point: "This financing marks an important next stage for Microbiotica and reflects the significant progress we have made in translating our powerful genomics-driven microbiome platform into clinical-stage products." The focus now is on taking their lead candidate, MB310, into Phase 2 trials for ulcerative colitis. ### Why Microbiome Matters Microbiotica was spun out of the Wellcome Sanger Institute in 2016. They've built a genomics-driven platform that combines a diverse microbiome culture collection, a proprietary human Reference Genome Database, advanced bioinformatics, and machine learning. When applied to clinical trial data, it can identify bacteria linked to better outcomes in specific patient groups. That's precision medicine at the microbial level. Their Phase 1b study in ulcerative colitis showed statistically significant clinical remission with no safety issues. Carmine Circelli from British Business Bank called it "best in disease potential." If Phase 2 confirms those results, MB310 could be a major breakthrough. ### The Bigger Picture Microbiotica's raise is part of a wave of European biotech investments in 2026. Here's a quick snapshot: - Germany's mbiomics added $13 million to its Series A, bringing it to $32 million. - UK-based OutPost Bio raised $3.1 million for its microbiology modelling platform. - France's Bionyra Pharma secured $154 million for inflammatory disease treatments, including IBD. - Paris-based Generare raised $21.5 million for microbial-genome drug discovery. - London's Alchemab Therapeutics received $31.6 million from British Business Bank. Together, these deals represent over $223 million in new financing, and that's before Microbiotica's round is included. With it, the total jumps to nearly $268 million. Clearly, investors see potential in this space. ### What's Next? Microbiotica isn't alone in this journey. They've partnered with MSD, Cancer Research UK, Genentech, the University of Adelaide, and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Dr. Sam Williams from IP Group, an early investor, said: "We have been very impressed by Microbiotica's progress... There is an important opportunity to advance Microbiotica's precision microbiome approach into a larger clinical study." For patients with ulcerative colitis, this funding means hope. Phase 2 trials will determine if MB310 can deliver on its early promise. If it does, it could change how we treat inflammatory bowel disease. And for the European biotech ecosystem, it's another sign that microbiome therapeutics are coming of age. So keep an eye on Microbiotica. The gut microbiome might just be the next frontier in medicine.