Pharma group receives £920k injection

An antibiotic which has been developed in Scotland for the treatment of Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, has moved a step closer to being brought to market following a six-figure cash injection for its developer.

The £920,000 of funding will enable Glasgow-based MGB Biopharma to progress the manufacture of its lead drug to enable it to enter crucial Phase II clinical trials. The funding has been led by angel investment syndicate Archangels.

The firm said it had also received co-funding from its original backers, the Scottish Investment Bank (SIB), Barwell PLC and Melrose-based angel investor, Tri Capital. It takes total funding raised to date to more than £7 million.

In addition to preparing the drug for its next trial phase, the funding will be used by MGB to support business development and the tolerability and microbiology testing of two further molecules which are said to show promise for the treatment of other infections and resistant bacteria.

Miroslav Ravic, chief executive of MGB Biopharma, said: “Thanks to the continued support of our investors, we have closed our latest financing round with a £920,000 extension.”

Sarah Hardy of Archangels added: “The creation of a drug that could effectively treat life threatening recurrent C. diff infections that have been shown to be resistant to current drugs would increase the limited options available to patients. Archangels believes it will be a valuable addition to the armoury in the fight against the major global problem of antibiotic resistance.” 0 Miroslav Ravic, CEO of Glasgow-based MGB