Scottish Agritech success story for MI:RNA Ltd
In May, MI:RNA announced that they will launch a novel diagnostic test in June, following a successful grant funding round in 2020.
Founded in 2019, MI:RNA is a female-led Biotech venture which has spun out of Scotland’s Rural College, SRUC. A whirlwind of activity behind the scenes has now brought the company to the point of commercial readiness. Their aim is to tackle the lack of accurate veterinary diagnostic testing in early stage disease beginning with a heart disease test for cats and dogs.
Founder and CEO, Dr Eve Hanks, is a veterinary surgeon with a background in research and diagnostic testing and she feels that using this novel testing technology, combined with an Artificial Intelligence platform, will be a game changer for the agricultural community in particular while improving animal welfare for our companion animals and addressing some holes in the equine market at the same time.
Eve says: ‘The next few months are incredibly exciting for MI:RNA as we aim to launch our first test. We need the whole team to pull together to make this a successful launch and, luckily, we have a great veterinary community behind us and we have SRUC as our champions, helping to pave the way for this transition.’ Although the company are based in Scotland they intend to work with Veterinary Surgeons internationally and eventually offer a suite of tests. The test uses a blood sample but has the potential to be used with milk, faeces, urine or saliva which is likely to be important for the farming community.
There are several diseases of production animals that are currently difficult to detect and this causes production losses, increased climate and environmental impacts and animal welfare concerns. The company plan to secure research funding to expand into this market and make a real difference of the sustainability of farming. Dan McGarty, Business Development Manager, is looking forward to this next step ‘I joined the company to work with the team recently and I was particularly interested in the net carbon reduction agenda. This is exactly the sort of innovation that the UK economy needs and we hope to expand quickly into this space.’
There are several challenges ahead both in terms of fundraising and technical development but as Scotland’s biotech sector continues to push forward with creativity and innovation, attracting investors despite the pandemic, MI:RNA is hoping for a bright future.