Continuing to move through a pipeline of health and life science investment, LYVA Labs, the Liverpool City Region’s innovation commercialisation organisation, has announced its latest investment in emerging biotech, Daresbury Proteins.
Halton-based Daresbury Proteins produces proteins used in academic and industrial research. The ‘one of a kind’ catalogue of proteins was produced for university-based scientists and is unavailable commercially elsewhere. The company can also rapidly assess the functionality of proteins, whilst reducing cost and risk by removing the manufacturing bottlenecks associated with cell line development. Most recently, Daresbury Proteins was able to develop an ultra-sensitive Covid-19 test to assess the effectiveness of the vaccines and natural infection.
The company has previously received funding from Mayor Steve Rotheram’s £3.2m Future Innovation Fund.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Our area has been a hotbed for innovation and scientific discovery for centuries, a legacy we’re proud to be continuing today. Our investment in local innovation is giving businesses across our region the chance to not only reach their full potential – but contribute to ours and the country’s prosperity too.
“I want to the Liverpool City Region to be known as a global innovation hub, as a place that creates more businesses, attracts greater investment and files more patents. There’s already been a huge appetite from businesses who want to work with us, and I can’t wait to see where these investments will catapult them to in the next stage of their journey. Most importantly, we’re helping to create well-paid, highly-skilled jobs for local people.”
Factors such as decreasing costs and ease of use are driving the growth of the global protein expression market. The research reagents market topped $3.88 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow at a rate of 11.33% next year.
LYVA Labs has made a £250,000 investment from their Health and Life Science Challenge fund and three new jobs will be created at Daresbury Protein, with plans to expand this to 50 new jobs within the region in the next five years. The investment into Daresbury Proteins will enable the development of their proprietary enabling technology for difficult-to-express biotherapeutics.
As the city region’s dedicated innovation commercialisation vehicle, LYVA Labs is key to achieving Mayor Rotheram’s ambition to invest 5% of regional GVA on Research and Development (R&D) by 2030 – nearly double the government’s national target.
Jennet Beesly, Director at Daresbury Proteins said: “The growth of the market is attributed to some key driving factors such as increasing incidence of chronic diseases, growth in the geriatric population, and increasing demand for protein biologics.
Emerging economies are likely to create significant growth opportunities for players in the market, and companies, such as LYVA Labs are noticing this and understanding the impact this sort of business will have on the region.”
Lorna Green, CEO of LYVA Labs said: “It’s an exciting time for biotech and in particular the global protein expression market, and innovators like Daresbury Proteins are impacting the industry in a big way.
Bringing such an interesting, and growing, sector to the city region, as well as the opportunity for the increased workforce, is great, and we’re proud to be a part of Daresbury Proteins’ journey.”