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Micregen

About Us
Twenty Years Of Prior Research. One Platform.

Micregen was founded in 2015, building on twenty years of prior academic stem cell secretome research, to turn that science into a manufacturable medicine.

The company is deliberately lean. We own our intellectual property outright, with no university or third-party claim on any of it.

Leadership

Barry Sharples

Founder & Chief Executive.

Thirty-five years founding and selling technology companies. Initiated the scientific collaboration that became Secretomix® after being treated by one of the founding scientists in a Swiss clinic in 2012.

Rob Mitchell, PhD

Director of R&D & Co-Founder

PhD in the regenerative capacity of the adult stem cell secretome.

Steve Ray, PhD

Non-Executive Director & Co-Founder.

PhD in neuroscience; over 30 years working in regenerative medicine and stem cell research. Former Senior Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University.

Additional Founding Scientists

Prof. Ketan Patel, PhD

Professor of Regenerative Medicine and Head of Molecular & Cellular Medicine, University of Reading. Pioneered work in muscular dystrophy and on the cell-fate proteins that govern tissue repair.

Prof. Paolo De Coppi, MD PhD

Consultant Paediatric Surgeon at Great Ormond Street Hospital and Head of Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine at the UCL Institute of Child Health. Named in TIME100 Health 2024 as one of the world’s most influential people in healthcare. Leads clinical advisory input into the NEC trial design.

Our founding scientists have published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, The Lancet and the British Medical Journal.

Clinical And Regulatory Advisors

Prof. Kate Costeloe CBE

Advisory Board Chair.

Neonatologist; awarded the James Spence Medal, the highest honour of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Athan Papadopoulos MD

Clinical Development Advisor.

Twenty years in global biopharma including Novartis, Sanofi and Emergex, at Chief Medical Officer level.

Prof. Agostino Pierro, Prof. Augusto Zani, Prof. Neena Modi, Dr Stavros Loukogeorgakis, Dr Simon Eaton -

clinical advisory panel in NEC, BPD and neonatal intensive care.

Prof. Paolo De Coppi in TIME Health 100!

Micregen Co-Founder Prof. Paolo De Coppi Included in TIME Magazines 100 Most Influential People in Health

pharma industry awards

Micregen Wins at UK Pharma Awards!

Micregen have won the UK Pharma Awards – Innovation of the Year!

Timeline

2024
May
Prof. Paolo De Coppi

Micregen Co-Founder Prof. Paolo De Coppi Included in TIME Magazines 100 Most Influential People in Health

2023
September

Micregen have won the UK Pharma Awards – Innovation of the Year!

2023
July

Micregen's Secretomix® platform was selected as a finalist for the 2023 UK Pharma Industry Awards, Innovation of the Year.

The Pharma Industry Awards identify and celebrate outstanding individuals and companies within the UK pharma industry who showcase excellence and originality. The Innovation of the Year is reserved for a unique product, process, or technology that yielded significant results and delivered to the highest standard.

This recognition demonstrates the far-reaching potential of Micregen's Secretomix® platform and the significant benefits it could bring to humanity.

March

Micregen’s first proprietary clinical grade Master and Working Cell banks completed. Both major milestones for the company. The working cell bank is the starting material for production of Micregen’s clinical trials and first commercial products.

Recognising Micregen’s profile as a highly innovative UK company, Micregen's CEO was invited as a guest speaker by UKRI at the London Stock Exchange (LSE) alongside the CEO of UKRI, the CEO of LSE and the UK Government Minister for Science, Research and Innovation to discuss the importance of UK public funding for research and development.

February

Micregen completed the development of a suite of In-Process-Control, Potency and Release Assays to manufacture clinical grade Secretomix®.

January

Micregen was selected to join the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Scale-Up Program.

The Innovate UK EDGE Scaleup Programme provides one-to-one, bespoke and funded support centred around the specific needs of innovative scaleup companies. Selection for the programme is for the most outstanding scalable businesses that are disrupting their industries, capable of exponential growth and internationalisation.

2022

Pre-clinical research continued throughout 2022 in the UK, USA, and Canada in CRO, university and hospital laboratories.

December

The UK Medicines Health & Regulatory Authority (MHRA) selected Micregen to join their ‘Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway’ (ILAP).

The entry point to ILAP is through the Innovation Passport, and Micregen was awarded the Innovation Passport for its first product. This pathway aims to accelerate Micregen’s development timeline, facilitating market entry and faster patient access.

Jim Curtis, Commercial Director of Micregen, commented: “This is a significant step for Micregen and will assist us in our desire to advance our cutting-edge treatments.”

February

Micregen’s new commercial office opened at Alderley Park, Cheshire.

2021
November

Micregen continues the development of the Secretomix® platform following a successful 2nd scientific advice meeting with the MHRA.

August

Micregen was listed amongst the UK’s top 200 most valuable high-growth companies in a joint report produced by Singer Capital Markets, a leading investment bank, and Beauhurst, a trusted searchable database of the UK’s high-growth companies.

From the 4.2 million private UK companies, over 34,000 met Beauhurst’s high-growth criteria, nearly 12,000 of which had received qualifying investment over the three-year period covered by the report. Micregen was proud to be placed at 192.

April

Micregen moved into larger laboratory facilities at Thames Valley Science Park, Reading.

Micregen completed a £5m funding round to meet important milestones through 2023.

2020
October

Micregen initiated the 2021 funding round

July

Micregen began the cGMP manufacture project of its first therapeutic.

April

Further financial support from Micregen shareholders with new equity investment as Micregen entered an exciting phase of development.

2019
December

Micregen shareholders visited Alderley Park for the annual investor meeting.

July

Micregen appointed pharma business development expert Joanne Kelley as Business Development Director. Jo is a senior biopharmaceutical business development leader with extensive global commercial and general management experience and an outstanding record of strategy development, deal preparation and execution. Her last role at AstraZeneca was VP Business Development - Head of Transactions.

Jo has diverse experience in leading buy and sell life sciences deals, including M&A, licensing, collaboration, and divestments. Her track record includes leading transformational, high-value transactions at AstraZeneca.

May

Micregen appointed entrepreneur and pharma veteran Jim Curtis as Commercial Director. He has more than 35 years of pharmaceutical industry experience.

Jim has led both Commercial and Research and Development teams across several pharma organisations, including AstraZeneca, Clinigen and Abbott. He has a demonstrable track record of success in Clinical Research, Life Sciences, and Strategic Planning.

2018
November

Micregen welcomed its stakeholders to Alderley Park for the annual investor meeting.

October

Micregen attended its first MHRA scientific advisory meeting for its first product under development.

September

Micregen won a £395k Smart Award under the UK Government’s modern industrial strategy from Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).

June

Micregen shareholders continue to support the company with further equity investment; new investors include several medical professionals.

2017
June

Micregen welcomed its stakeholders to Alderley Park for the annual investor meeting.

February

Micregen shareholders continue to support the company with further equity investment.

2016
September

Peter Ormerod was appointed as Non-Exec Director. Peter built his family business to an exit with over 400 shops nationwide, which was recognised as the largest Hearing Aid and Audiology provider in the UK.

Peter was also instrumental in the successful sale of the business to the Swiss Sonova Group and the subsequent part sale of the business to Boots the Chemist, including overseeing the rebrand to Boots Hearingcare, which he went on to chair.

Cary Depel was appointed to the Micregen Board. A qualified USA Lawyer & UK Solicitor with an accounting, finance and risk management background, Cary has held positions of Compliance Director and Chief Risk Officer in the UK and USA across several sectors, including biotech and medical device manufacturing. He is a former Fellow and Chairman of the Institute of Risk Management.

August

First external equity investment welcomed into Micregen.

June

The scientific team was assembled, including:

Prof. Paolo De Coppi, Professor of Paediatric Surgery at University College London & Great Ormond Street Hospital. Divisional Head at The Institute for Child Health.​

Prof. Ketan Patel, Professor of Regenerative Medicine & Head of Molecular and Cellular Medicine University of Reading, Adjunct Professor at Eppendorf University Clinic, Germany.

Dr Robert Mitchell. Studying under Professor Patel, Rob obtained his PhD at the University of Reading with his thesis exploring the regenerative capabilities of adult stem cell secretomes.

2015
August

Following twenty years of scientific stem cell research and eighteen months of strategic planning, Micregen was founded by Barry Sharples and Stephen Ray.

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids),

TORONTO

Canada’s most research-intensive hospital. Preclinical NEC and BPD studies.

Great Ormond Street Hospital and the UCL Institute of Child Health

London

An eight-year collaboration on preclinical studies and clinical trial preparation. Micregen and UCL hold an MRC grant part-funding a PhD programme on Secretomix® in NEC, led by Dr Stavros Loukogeorgakis with Dr Jay Sivaraj.

THE UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD

BRADFORD

Validation of Secretomix® in models of neurodegeneration.

Washington University School of Medicine

ST. LOUIS, USA

Research into bronchopulmonary dysplasia and neonatal lung indications.

University of Reading

ST. LOUIS, USA

Foundational secretome research and early efficacy studies across multiple tissue models, establishing the biology on which Secretomix® is built. Led by Prof. Ketan Patel.

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