BioSilta hopes to grow growth systems business with new UK headquarters
BioSilta makes a reagent-based microbial growth platform designed to increase protein yield in lab-scale bacterial and yeast expression systems.
The firm's approach is to use combinations of long chain polysaccharides and an agent that controls the rate of glucose release to ensure that optimal growth conditions are maintained in culture vessels.
BioSilta was founded in Oulu Finland in 2007. However, in recent months the firm has been trying to expand its business globally through its deal with Sigma-Aldrich and a fundraising round and relocating to the UK is the next step in that effort according to CEO Bob Penney.
“The UK is better for our business for many reasons,” Penney told Bio-pharma reporter.com, citing the larger domestic market, proximity to North America customers and the fact that shipping “to Europe and USA is significantly lower than in Finland” as advantages.
Closer to customers
Proximity to customers is important for BioSilta according to Penney who said “Having not had a commercial team in the company before now, the awareness of our products and company is low.
“To this end we are focusing on achieving this in Europe and the US. We have hired a commercial team in Europe who are now gearing up our marketing and sales activities to create awareness through a variety of activities, including conferences, seminars, and promotions.
“We are also recruiting a commercial team in the USA to the same in North America. We see the home market as being important to establish ourselves in first for credibility but the US offers a larger market, which we need to credibly serve.”
In addition, to being BioSilta’s headquarters the UK site will house warehousing, logistics, order processing and commercial sales, marketing and technical support functions. The Finnish site will now function as an R&D and QC centre.
