Microbiotica secures €42 million Series C funding for ulcerative colitis trials

Microbiotica secured the first close of a €42 million (£36 million) Series C financing round on Oct. 16, 2026, to fund clinical development of its lead oral drug.

The British Business Bank led the financing round, according to EU-Startups. Other investors participating in the round included Tencent, IP Group, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Flerie Invest, and Seventure Partners. All existing Series B investors also rejoined the round.

Founded in 2016 as a spin-out from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the Cambridge-based biopharmaceutical company translates microbiome research into orally-dosed precision medicines. The firm utilizes a platform combining a microbiome culture collection, a human Reference Genome Database, bioinformatics, and machine learning tools.

The new capital will advance its lead candidate, MB310, into Phase 2 clinical development for patients with ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease.

Tim Sharpington, chief executive officer of Microbiotica, said:

“This financing marks an important next stage for Microbiotica and reflects the significant progress we have made in translating our powerful genomics-driven microbiome platform into clinical-stage products, alongside developing a scalable and cost-effective manufacturing process.”

Sharpington added:

“We are thankful for the support received from our investors and are now focused on taking MB310 into Phase 2 clinical development, where we have an opportunity to further establish MB310 as a breakthrough treatment option for people living with ulcerative colitis.”

Carmine Circelli, senior investment director for life sciences at the British Business Bank, said:

“Its Phase 1b study in ulcerative colitis produced statistically significant clinical remission, best in disease potential with no safety issues. This funding allows the Company to move MB310 forward into a Phase 2 trial which, if it confirms the promise seen in Phase 1b, has the potential to be a major breakthrough in the treatment of ulcerative colitis.”

Circelli noted that investing in companies like Microbiotica helps UK life sciences businesses convert research into medical treatments while building the domestic life sciences market.

The investment adds to roughly €207.2 million in other European biotech financings reported in 2026. These include €143 million raised by French inflammatory disease firm Bionyra Pharma, €29.3 million raised by London-based Alchemab Therapeutics from the British Business Bank, and €20 million raised by Paris-based drug discovery firm Generare. Germany's mbiomics also raised an additional €12 million to expand its Series A round to €30 million, while UK microbiology modeling platform OutPost Bio raised €2.9 million.