Aelius Biotech Funding News- UK-based Aelius Biotech Raises £750K In Funding

Aelius Biotech, situated in Newcastle, offers testing services to businesses involved in consumer health, pharmaceuticals, and "functional foods," such as Huel. It helps clients reduce the risk of developing new products and enhance formulations by simulating how compounds will be absorbed by the body.

Only one of its kind, Aelius's model can replicate all three phases of digestion: chemicals entering the stomach, passing through the mucous layer on its surface, and then being absorbed into the body. 

Aelius has created the first cell-compatible mucus in history, which allows it to produce a completely integrated model, whereas other models concentrate on the initial or last stage.

Based on their work at the University of Newcastle, Professor Jeff Pearson, Dr. Matt Wilcox, and Dr. Peter Chater created Aelius in 2018. In 2023, Mercia Ventures and the North East Venture Fund provided the company with its first £1.25 million in funding.

Since then, it has grown from five employees to fifteen, and it has drawn a variety of new food customers, such as several producers of lab-grown meat and alternative proteins. In 2024, Aelius's revenue doubled.

Dr Peter Chater, the company’s CEO, said: “Over the last year we’ve demonstrated the market for novel and improved in vitro testing methods, and expanded our customer base as well as the Aelius team.

Along with our move to our new premises, this latest funding will enable us to accelerate our growth in international markets, particularly in the US.”

Chris McCourt of Mercia Ventures said: “The pharmaceutical and food industries have a clear need for better laboratory models to drive faster product development. Aelius’s model was created to meet this need.

The company has been growing steadily, and has attracted blue-chip clients and gained a strong foothold in the food industry. This latest funding will help it expand internationally and pursue its aim to become a global leader in its field.”

The funding will be used to finish construction on Aelius Biotech's new laboratory in Blandford Square, the city, and to increase the company's footprint in the US and Europe.