Oxford Biotrans Opens New Office & Laboratory Facility in Milton Park
From Left: Dr. Jason King, CEO of Oxford Biotrans, Prof. Luet Lok Wong of University of Oxford, Nicola Blackwood, MP and Dr. Will Barton, OBE, Chairman of Oxford Biotrans
Friday 11th March, 2016; Oxford Biotrans today opened its new office and laboratory facility in Milton Park, Abingdon. The ceremony was led by Nicola Blackwood, MP for Oxford West and Abingdon, and Chair of the Commons All Party Science and Technology Select Committee, and attended by senior representatives of the Royal Society of Chemistry, the Institute of Chemical Engineers, the Chemical Industries Association, the Society for the Chemical Industry, of key suppliers and business partners, and of the University of Oxford, local media, local councils and local politicians.
Following on from an oversubscribed £2.5M Series A funding round, supported by UK investors including Imperial Innovations, IP Group, Oxford Innovations, Technology EIS fund and De Monchy Aromatics, the establishment of this new facility provides state-of-the-art equipment and an environment into which we are able to attract the talent required to develop Oxford Biotrans’ exciting product pipeline.
“With a team that already includes ten skilled scientists based at our new site, we aim rapidly to develop and commercialise the novel processes for our first group of products targeting the Flavour & Fragrance market”, said Dr Jason King, the company’s CEO. “The flexibility this research platform provides positions us favourably to continue the work carried on over the last 20 years by our founder Professor Luet Wong in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Oxford, and to grow the company to become a significant player in the Industrial Biotechnology landscape.”
Robert Bahns, Director Technology Ventures at Imperial Innovations, said “the current success of Biotechnology companies in Oxford demonstrates the deep skill base present in the area. OBs initial product, natural-grade nootkatone (the scent and flavour of grapefruit), proves OBs underlying process technology can create complex and valuable compounds; over the coming months it will be exciting to see the team in the new facility push the boundaries of Industrial Biotechnology.”
Dr Will Barton, OBE, Chairman of Oxford Biotrans, added “the scale of the investment and capability at the new site, combined with the quality of the people we have been able to attract, is enabling the Company to lead the way in pioneering, sustainable Industrial Biotechnology, developing smart, clean routes to existing and novel high-value chemical compounds. Oxford Biotrans’ novel process routes will impact markets ranging from natural ingredients to pharmaceutical and environmentally-friendly agrochemical and specialty chemicals sectors. We are immensely grateful to our investors for their continuing support on this exciting journey”
For more, please see Oxford Mail