Uni spin-out biotech firm reveals plan to raise £15m

A UNIVERSITY spin-out that is aiming to create lab-grown meat, leather and other items has announce plans to raise £15m to support its growth.

- GRAEME WHITFIELD

Listed Newcastle firm BSF Enterprise is planning to work with Blackstone Mercantile Group on what it said would be a “significant milestone for BSF in the execution of its growth strategy, providing the capital required to accelerate the commercialisation of its core cutting-edge technologies in lab-grown leather, corneal repair, and culture media supplements for cells and engineered tissues”.

The proposed funding would support BSF's work in lab-grown leather, which it is planning to showcase next year. The company said the funding would also allow it to expand commercial partnerships, strengthen its intellectual property portfolio, and support the recruitment and retention of key scientific, commercial, and operational staff.