A Bristol University spin-out that has developed technology that can mimic a dog's sense of smell has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds in funding.
Rosa Biotech created an artificial intelligence platform capable of detecting the faint chemical scent given off by chronic diseases after being inspired by dogs' ability to smell malaria and Parkinson’s disease.
The spin-out has now raised £760,000 to commercialise the tech. It is one of the largest founding investments in any Bristol University spin-out company.
The team, which is already working with several clinicians and pharmaceutical manufacturers, is hoping the technology will help diagnose diseases in their early stages.
Dr Andy Boyce, chief executive of Rosa Biotech, said: “The scientific team has developed a sensing platform that is both sensitive enough to detect the faint chemical signature given off by chronic diseases but also versatile enough to be applied to a broad range of sensing challenges, such as the complex manufacturing process for high-value drugs.”
Professor Dek Woolfson, whose team at the Bristol BioDesign Institute developed the tech, said: “Over the past 20 years, we have learnt how to design new proteins completely from scratch.
"Some mimic natural protein structures, but others are entirely new structures. We built a series of barrel-shaped proteins that resemble proteins of the mammalian olfactory system, but are much simpler, easier to make and easier to handle. It is these barrels that provide the basis for Rosa’s technology."
Dr Harry Destecroix, founder of Ziylo - a glucose sensing company bought by pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk last year - was one of the investors.
He added: “Rosa is that rare combination of an early-stage company that is built on world-class research and has already started to get traction with end-users.
“The combination of novel chemistry and machine learning offers huge opportunities for growth.”
Rosa’s investment will be used to grow the team, build out Rosa’s automated platform and demonstrate the utility of the technology to address challenges in new sectors.
