£10m boost for animal science

A multimillion pound investment will enable Roslin Technologies Ltd to improve farmed animals’ health and raise agricultural productivity.

The company, founded to commercialise research from the University of Edinburgh, will aim to bring to market new animal vaccines and diagnostic tools.

Professor Timothy O’Shea, Vice Chancellor at the University of Edinburgh, said: “This investment recognises the strength of the University’s innovation capacity and cements our position as one of the world’s leading research-intensive universities.”

Roslin Technologies Ltd is thought to be the largest agricultural biotechnology start-ups in UK history to focus on both animal health and agricultural productivity. It’ll explore possibilities for low-cost new medicine manufacturing using chicken eggs. This new deal will also warrant detailed investigations of differing methods to preserve frozen stocks of avian reproductive material.

The company is a partnership between the University, JD Equity and the British Innovation Fund.

Professor Bruce Whitelow, Interim Director at the Roslin Institute, an animal research centre, said: “Having pioneered the commercialisation of animal biotechnology for three decades, the establishment of Roslin Technologies now provides an exciting platform to accelerate the translation of Roslin’s data-driven innovations into the commercial sector.”