Research teams at the University of Bath have been awarded exploratory funding from Innovate UK for a 12-week journey or discovery to assess the market potential of their research ideas.

Dr Naing Thet, Entrepreneurial Lead, with Principal Scientific Advisor, Professor Toby Jenkins, Department of Chemistry, have been awarded ICURe funding to explore their concept of creating a series of improved infant and adult products which treat incontinence associated dermatitis or nappy rash.

This will be achieved by using probiotics, or ‘good bacteria’, that have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects, restricting ammonia production and improving skin health. They have demonstrated under test that the probiotics are highly effective at inhibiting growth of various pathogenic bacterial species which cause skin damage and infections.

They are patenting their unique methodology which addresses the challenge of retaining the viability of the probiotics through an extended shelf-life and moving towards a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) for their innovation.

In addition to the nappy market for Adult Incontinence Associated Dermatitis (IAD) and baby care, their technology could also target wound care, improving the quality of life for people with chronic wounds, and food packaging, to target odour-producing bacteria found on the surface of packaged meat.

Dr Naing Thet, Entrepreneurial Lead, says:

This is a really exciting opportunity to bring our technology to the market. The low cost probiotic coated fabric revolutionises the way we deal with incontinence associated dermatitis in vulnerable populations, both in the UK and all over the world.

Also under the leadership of Professor Toby Jenkins, Robyn Deeks, PhD student in the Department of Chemistry, is taking part in the ICURe Discover Programme having completed ICURe Engage. She is also part of the team researching probiotic wound dressings to suppress pathogenic bacterial growth and enzymes, addressing the global health problem of wound infection. The NHS currently spends over £8 billion annually on wound management. The potentially disruptive technology being developed by the group could have a substantial impact on patient quality of life while giving UK R&D a competitive edge.

Another successfully funded ICURe grant was awarded to Entrepreneurial Lead, Dr David Phillips, with Principal Scientific Advisor, Dr Sandhya Moise, Department of Chemical Engineering. They have developed a new technology for growing mammalian suspension cells at lower cost and higher quality than existing technology. These cells form the foundation for manufacturing essential therapeutic products that are widely used in areas such as cancer treatment, gene therapy, and vaccine production.

Their novel fluidised bed reactor, normally used in chemical industries, has for the first time been adapted for the culture of single mammalian suspension cells. This allows the production of previously economically unfeasible cell-based therapeutics, such as red blood cells. Their innovation supports their future vision of providing affordable and equitable global healthcare by reducing the cost of essential therapeutics.

Dr David Phillips, Entrepreneurial Lead, says:

We are delighted to have been successful in our application to the ICURe Explore programme. This funding provides an invaluable opportunity to engage directly with the biotherapeutics industry and to explore how our novel fluidised bed bioreactor technology can address the limitations of current cell culture systems. We are excited by the potential to enable more scalable and affordable production of advanced therapies, to enable novel therapeutics to be brought to market, and to ultimately support broader access to life-changing treatments.

Dr Irene Henning, Technology Transfer Manager in Research and Impact Services (RIS) at the University of Bath which supported the academic research teams to secure ICURe funding, says:

The University of Bath has seen great success with ICURe funding which supports the most promising innovations from UK research. We are delighted for the research teams with these newly awarded ICURe grants, enabling them to explore the market for their innovative solutions and drive real-world impact from their research.