Antimicrobial resistance is responsible for 1.2 million deaths every year, a number that is projected to increase to 10 million by 2050. No new antibiotic scaffold has been brought to the clinic in almost 40 years, so there is an urgent need to discover novel solutions to some of the world’s deadliest pathogens. Currently, 80% of antibiotics derive from the 1% of microbes that can readily be cultured in the laboratory. The remaining 99% of unculturable microbes are a vast bioresource producing an estimated 95,000 new compound classes. Bactobio uses breakthrough technologies in engineering biology, next generation sequencing, and machine learning to culture unexplored microbes and identify new antimicrobial compounds.
Dr Mark Wilkinson is co-founder and CSO of Bactobio, responsible for overseeing the scientific platform, team growth, funding acquisition, and external collaborations including academic partnerships and securing places for PhD students. He is also responsible for designing and installing new laboratories at their site in central London.
Mark reflects that his role has shifted from scientific and technical execution through to strategic and operational management as Bactobio has grown since its inception. As it continues to grow, he wants to ensure sustainable growth through coaching and team upskilling, as well as developing and formalising his own leadership skills. He hopes to develop these skills through the Shott Scale Up Accelerator’s training and mentorship. He says that the Shott Start Up Accelerator “provides the perfect opportunity to identify key mentors and provide access to courses that will help me develop as an individual”.
Innovate UK have provided tremendous support for the company’s discovery of new antibiotics and fungicides to date. Now Bactobio are working towards several milestones ahead of their next funding round. To achieve these, they are focusing on increasing their automation, machine learning, and delivering on commercial deals with their discovered compounds. They will be increasing their business development and commercialisation teams, as well as bringing in senior mentorship for laboratory scientists.
