Biosciences Company Lands $2M+ in Funding

Indianapolis-based Scioto Biosciences Inc. has closed a $1.8 million round of funding and has also been awarded nearly $400,000 in grants from the National Institutes of Health and the state of Indiana. The preclinical stage company says it will use the funds to further the development of its microbiome platform technology.

Scioto Biosciences says its focus is on developing innovative therapies to transform the delivery of microbiome therapeutics. The funding round included investments from BioCrossroads, Elevate Ventures and Ohio-based Rev1 Ventures. The company also received a $330,000 Small Business Technology Transfer grant from the NIH and a $50,000 match from the state.

"We are delighted that a team of important investors has shown confidence in our microbiome platform technology and sees its commercialization potential," said Joe Trebley, chief executive officer of Scioto Biosciences. "Our strong IP portfolio, executive and scientific team and working relationships with organizations like the Research Institute of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio has put us in a strong position to meet clinical needs in multiple therapeutic markets."

Among the treatments Scioto is seeking to develop is one to combat necrotizing enterocolitis, which the company says is now the leading cause of death from gastrointestinal disease in premature infants. Gail Besner, co-founder of Scioto and chief of pediatric surgery at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, says the company is working to develop a probiotics-based solution that could be groundbreaking for the preventative treatment of NEC.

"Working together with Scioto and studying the development of our microbiome platform, you can really see the potential for not only helping prevent NEC, but also tackling other disease states in both human and animal health," said Steve Goodman, co-founder of Scioto and associate professor of pediatrics at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. "This could change the delivery system of many developing microbiome treatments and help advance a rapidly-growing field."

Scioto Biosciences was founded in May of 2017 and is headquartered at the Indiana Center for Biomedical Innovation just north of downtown Indianapolis.