ScotlandIS Member Spotlight: iBioIC

In this Member Spotlight we hear from new Business member, iBioIC, about its open-access bioprocessing scale‑up facility, FlexBIO, and on joining ScotlandIS to strengthen connections between biotechnology-enabled innovation and Scotland’s digital and technology ecosystem.

Who is iBioIC and what do you do?

IBioIC is a Scottish-based networking and support organisation recognised as a European centre of excellence for industrially-led research. IBioIC connects industry, academia and government to bring biotechnology processes and products to the global market.

Membership of IBioIC provides companies with the tools needed to accelerate and de-risk this journey. We do this by offering scale-up facilities, talent development, feasibility funding, and the promotion of Scotland’s unique assets.

Tell us something unique or interesting about your organisation. 

One of IBioIC’s most distinctive offerings is its open-access bioprocessing scale‑up facility, FlexBIO. Hosted at Heriot-Watt University, FlexBIO offers companies and academics support to test and scale industrial biotechnology processes before committing to huge capital investment. In practice, that means that startups and SMEs can move from lab-bench to pilot scale much faster and with far less financial risk; something that is a major bottleneck in industrial biotech globally.

What is your biggest achievement as an organisation? 

Since its establishment in 2014, IBioIC has supported cluster growth from around 20 member companies to over 450.

What prompted you to become a member of ScotlandIS?

Modern-day biotechnology is increasingly data-intensive, relying on advanced digital infrastructures and analytics to drive innovation. By working closely with ScotlandIS, we hope to strengthen connections between biotechnology-enabled innovation and Scotland’s digital and technology ecosystem, enabling our members to adopt the tools, skills and partnerships needed to scale.

What do you see as the main challenges for the tech industry in the UK and Scotland? 

From an industrial biotechnology perspective, the main challenge for the tech industry in the UK and Scotland is integration rather than invention. Value is created when enabling technologies such as biology, digital, data, automation, and engineering are brought together and implemented by established industrial sectors. Adoption of technologies is hindered by fragmentation across disciplines, challenges in scale-up and commercialisation, gaps in cross-disciplinary skills, and limited patient capital. Improving connectivity, coordination and accelerating translation of innovation to industrial impact are the key challenges to address. This also highlights the need to build confidence and an appropriate risk appetite around transformative technologies to enable effective scale-up and long-term industrial impact.

Get in touch if you’d like to find out more at info@ibioic.com, or visit www.ibioic.com.