Microbiotica raises $48 million led by British Business Bank for gut-bacteria pill

Microbiotica, a UK biotech company developing medicines made from gut bacteria, has raised 36 million pounds (about 48 million dollars) in the first close of a Series C funding round led by the British Business Bank, the company announced on 16 October 2026. Tencent, IP Group, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Flerie Invest and Seventure Partners also invested, and all of the company's Series B investors took part again. Microbiotica said the money will take its lead drug, MB310, into a Phase 2 clinical trial in ulcerative colitis, a long-term inflammatory bowel disease, after the drug met its main goals in an earlier Phase 1b study called COMPOSER-1.

Microbiotica's approach, as the company describes it, is genomics-driven: it identifies specific bacterial strains linked to a disease and gives patients a defined mix of those strains as a pill. That is a more precise idea than broad probiotic products, and the company has research partnerships with MSD, Cancer Research UK and Genentech. A positive Phase 1b result followed by a fully subscribed first close from existing and new investors suggests backers see the approach as worth a larger test.

Ulcerative colitis is a long-term inflammatory bowel disease, and an oral therapy that helps patients reach remission would be a welcome option. Phase 2 is the stage where a drug must show it works in a larger group of patients, so the coming trial is the real test of MB310.

The make-up of the round is also worth noting. A state-owned bank leading a deep science round, alongside a global technology investor like Tencent and specialist life-science funds, shows how governments are using public capital to keep promising companies at home and growing. Several of the investors were already backers, which signals confidence from those who know the company best.

For Indian founders and investors, the deal shows where global capital is flowing in biotech: to platforms that combine genomics and data with clear clinical milestones. Indian biotech start-ups working on genomics-led drug discovery will be watching how far such platforms can go, and the deal is an example of a public development bank leading a high-risk science round.

Short-term: Microbiotica will start preparing its Phase 2 trial of MB310 and may close further funding in a second close.

Long-term: If Phase 2 succeeds, MB310 could become one of the first precision microbiome drugs for inflammatory bowel disease, encouraging more investment in the field worldwide.

Who is affected: People living with ulcerative colitis; Microbiotica and its investors; other microbiome and biotech start-ups; and public investors such as development banks backing deep science.

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