16 hours ago
Nato fund backs biotech start-up in push to counter biological threats
The Nato Innovation Fund has made its first investment in a biotechnology company, it said on Monday, seeking to enhance defences against biological threats
The fund is co-leading a $35m (R619m) fundraising round for Portal Biotech, which uses protein sequencing to detect engineered threats and defend against biological warfare.
UK-based Portal Biotech's capability is essential for biosecurity defence and security, said Ana Bernardo-Gancedo, senior associate at the fund.
'We believe it is absolutely imperative that we are able to detect, monitor and create countermeasures,' she said.
The fund, created in 2022 after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, plans to invest more than $1bn (R17.7bn) in technologies that would enhance Nato's defences.
Portal Biotech uses an AI-backed technology with biological sensors that can work at the single molecule level on-site, providing results within hours.
'It's for everything from measuring diseases to better pandemic prevention. You can take this out of large labs with long turnaround times and into the field,' CEO Andy Heron told Reuters.
Heron said the company's instruments can detect any pathogen and can be used for continuous monitoring of anything from a field to water supply.
'It allows you not only to detect what you did know was out there, but it allows you to detect what you didn't know,' he said.
Beyond biosecurity, Portal Biotech expects its portable equipment to aid in drug discovery and precision medicine.
The company's investors include Earlybird Venture Capital, Science Creates VC, Pillar VC, 8VC, We VC and British Business Bank.
