Biotech firm deal opens door to Chinese market

TYNESIDE biotech business Atelerix has struck a deal which will see it break into one of the world's biggest life science markets.

- COREENA FORD Business writer

The Newcastle University spin-out is revolutionising how cells are stored and transported, having been formed seven years ago by co-founders professor Che Connon, Dr Steve Swioklo and Dr Mick McLean, to disrupt the cell preservation market.

Based at the Biosphere at Newcastle Helix, the firm takes its name from the behaviours of hedgehogs, which have the genus name Atelerix in particular the African four-toed pygmy hedgehog that hibernates when the temperature dips below around 20C. The company's patented hydrogel encapsulation technology allows cells to do just the same.

Now the company has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with MineBio, a leading Chinese supply chain and logistics organisation.