Business Live: for curious entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs

From PhD to CEO with Dr Kirsty Smitten, MetalloBio, addressing one of the biggest threats to global health

• Jamie Veitch • Season 11 • Episode 2

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Dr Kirsty Smitten has gone from PhD Student to founder and CEO of MetalloBio Ltd: "I was writing my thesis while forming a company." Her firm is developing new compounds to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and is a spin-out from the University of Sheffield, incorporated in 2021.

Already the cause of 1.2 million fatalities every year, antimicrobial resistant infections are predicted to cause 10 million by 2050, more than cancer.

In the first week of a PhD in Chemistry and Microbiology, Kirsty adapted compounds to be more readily taken-up by bacteria "and they worked." That's not a typical PhD, she adds, "it was a real shock and surprise." Kirsty describes the whirlwind progression from filing a patent in 2019, joining a market validation programme, establishing the need for the compounds, and then getting onto the Innovate UK ICURe programme – "I don't think we'd have a company if we hadn't got onto that."

She gives valuable tips about getting onto incubation and acceleration programmes, securing support from Innovate UK, raising funding and demonstrating impact. Kirsty's comments aren't only relevant to biotech firms and spin-outs: they will be useful to listeners across many sectors.

MetalloBio is developing its two lead antimicrobial compounds for two areas: to be used in drugs and treatments to combat multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria; and to be used in medical devices, and material coatings and additives.

The firm has received multiple awards and accolades: Kirsty was listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science and Healthcare Europe, and named "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" by The FSB Yorkshire and the Humber. But winning The Royal Society of Chemistry Emerging Technologies Competition 2022 - Health is probably her favourite, and she tells us why.

She also covers:

  • How she secured nearly £2 million in non-diluted funding,
  • MetalloBio's routes to market, its new raise, and its revenue potential,
  • The need for appropriate laboratory space in Sheffield,
  • Why she used to dread pitching but now loves it – with a top tip,
  • Why universities should introduce modules on commercialisation and entrepreneurship for their PhD students.

"I always thought I wanted to be an academic but now I wouldn't do anything else – I love my job," says Kirsty, and finishes with more valuable advice.

What next?