A UK biotech company whose unique laboratory gut model is used to trial new drugs and foodstuffs without the need for animal testing has raised a further £750,000 from the North East Venture Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia Ventures.
The funding will help Newcastle-based Aelius Biotech to expand its presence in the US and European markets and complete work on its new laboratory in the city’s Blandford Square. Aelius provides testing services for consumer health, pharmaceutical and ‘functional food’ companies including Huel. It models how substances will be digested by the body to help customers to de-risk product development and improve formulations.
Aelius’s model is the only one of its type that can simulate all three stages of the digestion process – from substances passing through the gut, crossing the mucus layer on its surface and being absorbed into the body. While other models focus on the first or final stage, Aelius has developed the world’s first cell-compatible mucus, enabling it to create a fully integrated model.
Aelius was founded in 2018 by Dr Peter Chater, Dr Matt Wilcox and Professor Jeff Pearson based on their research at the University of Newcastle. The company received initial £1.25m funding from Mercia Ventures and the North East Venture Fund in 2023.
Since then it has increased staff from five to 15, and attracted a host of new food clients including a number of alternative protein and lab-grown meat manufacturers. Aelius doubled its revenue in 2024.
