NI’s Aramune Technologies raises £800k to scale and trial its first product

Northern Ireland firm, Aramune Technologies has raised £800,000 of new equity funding to develop an industrial-scale process for manufacturing its first product.
By Claire Cartmill
Published 25th May 2022, 08:00 BST
Stuart Gaffikin, Clarendon Fund Managers, Stuart Gibson, Ashley Cooper, Prof Brian Green, Oisin Lappin and Dr Chris NicklinStuart Gaffikin, Clarendon Fund Managers, Stuart Gibson, Ashley Cooper, Prof Brian Green, Oisin Lappin and Dr Chris Nicklin
Stuart Gaffikin, Clarendon Fund Managers, Stuart Gibson, Ashley Cooper, Prof Brian Green, Oisin Lappin and Dr Chris Nicklin

The Queen’s University Belfast spinout is developing natural, plant derived feed materials which can be mixed with standard animal feeds to replace antimicrobial agents and promote growth.

Their venture is supported by a syndicate of investors which includes QUBIS which is the commercialisation arm of Queen’s University, Co-Fund NI (managed by Clarendon Fund Managers), the QUBIS Innovation Fund (managed by Sapphire Capital Partners) and a local private investor.

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Ashley Cooper, CEO, said: “We are delighted to have secured this funding from local investors who are committed to supporting Queen’s spin-out ventures and the local economy. With this funding we are now well placed to rapidly exploit the very many commercial applications of our proprietary Aramune compound.”

Stuart Gaffikin, investment manager from Clarendon Fund Managers, explained: “We are delighted to be able to invest into Aramune Technologies and back its experienced management team as part of this seed investment round. We look forward to playing our role in supporting the company as it develops and commercialises its natural, plant-based products for use in animal health and nutraceuticals.”

QUBIS Corporate Finance Manager Oisin Lappin, continued: “Aramune is an exciting new spinout venture that has emerged from the Queen’s Institute of Global Food Security and we are delighted to support the team as they begin their commercialisation journey.”

The Belfast company are developing multiple applications for their patented plant compounds that can benefit animal and human health. The unique approach boosts the immune system, increasing natural resistance to bacterial infection, which in turn should minimise the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in animals and humans. The proceeds will enable the business to field cultivate their source plants, industrially scale their compound extraction procedures and undertake more commercial trials.

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Brian Green, chief scientific officer of Aramune Technologies, added: “This investment is a vote of confidence in the commercial potential of our research, and it follows on from Aramune’s recent successes. In 2021 we won £300,000 of funding from Innovate UK and were Regional winners of the InterTradeIreland Seedcorn investor readiness competition.”

Related topics:Northern Ireland