Microbiotica's $45M Raise Signals a New Era for Microbiome Drugs

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 field that's still finding its footing. The company is developing orally-dosed, precision microbiome medicines. And this cash injection will push its lead candidate, MB310, into Phase 2 trials for ulcerative colitis. ### Who's Betting Big on Microbiome Therapeutics? The round was led by the British Business Bank, with participation from Tencent, IP Group, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Flerie Invest, and Seventure Partners. All existing Series B investors joined in. That kind of continued support says a lot about confidence in Microbiotica's platform. Tim Sharpington, the CEO, put it this way: "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." He also noted the development of a scalable, cost-effective manufacturing process. ### The Science Behind the Promise Founded in 2016 as a spin-out from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Microbiotica has built a genomics-driven microbiome platform. It combines a diverse 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 favorable outcomes in specific patient groups. That's how they found MB310. In a Phase 1b study, the drug produced statistically significant clinical remission in ulcerative colitis patients—with no safety issues. Carmine Circelli of the British Business Bank called it "best in disease potential." If Phase 2 confirms those results, MB310 could be a major breakthrough. ### A Wave of European Biotech Investment Microbiotica's news comes amid a flurry of European biotech financings in 2026. Germany's mbiomics added $13 million to its Series A, bringing it to $32 million. The UK's OutPost Bio raised $3.1 million. France's Bionyra Pharma secured $155 million for inflammatory disease treatments, and Paris-based Generare raised $22 million for microbial-genome drug discovery. London's Alchemab Therapeutics also received $32 million from the British Business Bank. Together, these deals represent about $225 million in new financing—rising to $270 million when Microbiotica's round is included. That's a lot of capital flowing into microbiome and related fields. ### What This Means for the Microbiome Space For years, microbiome therapeutics have been hyped but slow to deliver. Microbiotica's progress—and the investor appetite it's attracting—suggests the tide may be turning. The company already has partnerships with MSD, Cancer Research UK, Genentech, the University of Adelaide, and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Dr. Sam Williams, Venture Partner at IP Group, said: "We have been very impressed by Microbiotica's progress since we first invested... There is an important opportunity to advance Microbiotica's precision microbiome approach into a larger clinical study." If MB310 succeeds in Phase 2, it won't just be a win for Microbiotica—it'll be a proof point for the entire field. And with $45 million in fresh capital, the company has the runway to find out.