Colin MacKay, CEO of Symbiosis

Allied Irish Bank (GB) will provide £1 million of debt funding to enable physical, operational and commercial development of the business, including enhanced manufacturing output and improved business process efficiency and a strengthened IT capability. 

The financing will also support Symbiosis’s plan to hire 20 more staff by the end of 2020 and continue its trend of annual, double-digit revenue and profit increases.

Symbiosis provides niche, sterile manufacturing services to global biotechnology and pharmaceutical company clients developing novel drug therapies and vaccines for use in clinical trials or the commercial market. 

Symbiosis’s facility at Stirling Innovation Park was purpose-built in 2011 to manufacture deliberately small batches of clinical trial injectable drug products. 

The company has grown significantly since and positioned itself to supply commercial pharmaceutical products and specialise in emerging medicinal technologies like Advanced Therapeutic Medicinal Products (ATMPs). 

The Allied Irish Bank (GB) finance package follows a recent period of expansion by Symbiosis, part-funded by Innovate UK grant funding. Last year, the firm completed the investment of £1.5 million in its Stirling headquarters, doubling its footprint and increasing its manufacturing capability. 

Tina Crookston, relationship manager at Allied Irish Bank (GB), said: “Symbiosis has consistently exceeded its business goals and has strong potential for growth. We are working with many of our customers to support them through these difficult times, while identifying new opportunities in emerging sectors. Life sciences is a billion-pound sector in Scotland and homegrown startups like Symbiosis are a critical part of that success.” 

Colin MacKay, CEO of Symbiosis, added: “The funding from Allied Irish Bank (GB) is a significant statement of support and endorses our growth strategy. We will be using that investment to proactively fuel the strategic development of our capabilities to enable further successful growth in both local and international markets  We want to increase our manufacturing output while maintaining the time-focused competitive strengths that our market has come to expect. 

“It’s an exciting time for Symbiosis and we’re grateful for the support from Allied Irish Bank (GB) in recognising our potential for growth and their willingness to join us in a mutually-beneficial relationship. Our clients are biotech and biopharma companies over 80 per cent of them are located in the US and Europe. We specialise in manufacturing, testing, packaging and QA-releasing products for companies that are developing new injectable products and located in those territories.”