News
Developing the UK-ADB food and nature partnership
In mid-July, a senior delegation from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) embarked on a UK mission with a series of business meetings at venues across the UK, designed to develop the ADB–UK Food and Nature Partnership launched earlier in the year by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and ADB.
This partnership aims to advance investments in biodiversity, ecosystems, and food systems transformation.
MYGroup enters joint venture with Beta Bugs to secure supply of Black Soldier Fly eggs
MYGroup has entered into a joint venture with insect genetics company Beta Bugs to supply eggs for its Black Soldier Fly (BSF) bioconversion Insectology™ process for food waste management.
Under the joint venture, Beta Bugs will become MYGroup’s exclusive supplier of BSF eggs, with a new breeding and hatching facility to be established at the waste management company’s The Maltings site at South Milford, near Leeds.
Nick Challoner appointed as Chief Executive Officer at Ingenza
Ingenza Limited, a technology driven contract research, development and manufacturing organisation (CRDMO), has announced the appointment of Nick Challoner as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective the 1st of October, 2025.
New test uses oyster poo to track devastating parasite
A Heriot-Watt scientist has worked with colleagues at the University of Edinburgh's Roslin Institute to develop a groundbreaking method to detect a deadly oyster parasite without harming the shellfish.
The European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis) has seen its numbers plummet over the past two centuries due to overfishing, habitat loss and disease. They are now rare and protected in the wild.
£326k given to insect protein research
Innovate UK has awarded £326,610 to help the UK insect sector address regulatory barriers.
This IBC-Net project, led by UK Agri-Tech Centre Ltd, will overcome regulatory hurdles in insect bioconversion, the process of using insects to break down organic waste into protein for animal feed, oils or fertiliser.
Gene-edited pigs approved for US market
Pigs produced to be resistant to one of the world’s most costly livestock diseases, using technology developed by the Roslin Institute, have been approved for sale to US consumers.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of a gene-editing technology that makes pigs resistant to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) for the US food supply chain.
TRICAPITAL Angels leads £2.1 million investment into Scottish insect genetics firm Beta Bugs
Pioneering Scottish business Beta Bugs has secured a multimillion-pound investment as it looks to become a global leader in insect genetics.
TRICAPITAL Angels led a £1.7 million investment into the business in 2023 – and has now followed up with a fresh £2.1 million cash injection alongside Scottish Enterprise.
Ingenza partners with HydRegen to advance sustainable biomanufacturing
Ingenza has partnered with Oxford-based biotech company HydRegen to develop a more sustainable and cost-effective method for manufacturing amine-based chemicals, eliminating the need for heavy metal catalysts. The company turned to Ingenza to help improve the expression levels of a new candidate biocatalyst, increasing process efficiency and resource use.
Discover the new Agri Hub on Easter Bush Campus
Midlothian Science Business Forum guests received an introduction to the new Agri-Tech Hub for Data-Driven Innovation (DDI), part of the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Deal, and learned how this has evolved as well as the exciting opportunities for future development, collaboration, innovation and talent building.
Cytomos secures £5 million for scale-up
Midlothian-based biotechnology company Cytomos has secured £5 million to scale up production of its cell analysis technology.
Cytomos said that the investment will enable it to drive sales of its first commercial product, Celledonia™, built on its cell analysis technology platform, AuraCyt, which is “already generating significant market traction.”