Pioneering Bristol firm Ziylo has been bought by global healthcare company Novo Nordisk in a deal which could be worth around $800m (£628m) and could also trigger a breakthrough in the treatment of diabetes.
A spin-out company from the University of Bristol, Ziylo will use the funds from the deal to continue its work to create the world’s first glucose-responsive insulin, potentially transforming the treatment of diabetes. 
Ziylo is the anchor tenant in Bristol’s Unit DX science incubator near Temple Meads and a former member of the university’s SETsquared incubator.
It has developed an innovative technology platform that could be a key component to enable the next generation of insulin, able to react and adapt to glucose levels in the blood, therefore eliminating the risk of hypoglycaemia – dangerously low blood sugar levels – and leading to better metabolic control for people living with the disease.
The acquisition by Novo Nordisk is one of the biggest deals in the university’s history and a major boost for Bristol’s burgeoning science sector. Unit DX, which opened last year, is already operating at near full capacity.
The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 382m people worldwide, including just over 4m people in the UK, have diabetes – a metabolic disorder affecting blood sugar levels. Everyone with Type 1 diabetes and some people with Type 2 diabetes need to take insulin, either by injection or a pump, to control their blood glucose levels.
The deal is a massive success story for researchers in the Davis Research Group in the university’s School of Chemistry who had been working on the problem for many years before Ziylo was established as a start-up company in 2014. It’s likely their lab-based work will now be turned into a real-world application to improves the lives of people around the world.
Ziylo’s glucose binding molecules are synthetic molecules that were designed by Prof Anthony Davis, who has been at the forefront of research into synthetic sugar receptors for the past 20 years. Prof Davis co-founded Ziylo with his PhD student Dr Harry Destecroix and Tom Smart.
Dr Destecroix, CEO of Ziylo, said: “Novo Nordisk, as the leader in the diabetes field, is the ideal company to maximise the potential of the Ziylo’s glucose-binding molecules in glucose responsive insulins and diabetes applications, and it brings hope of a truly ground-breaking treatment to diabetes patients.”
Dr Destecroix is also the co-founder of Unit DX, along with Tom Smart and Ziylo chairman Keith MacDonald.
The acquisition gives Novo Nordisk full rights to Ziylo’s glucose-binding molecule platform to develop glucose responsive insulins.
The development of glucose responsive insulins is a key strategic area for Novo Nordisk in its effort to develop this next generation of insulin which would lead to a safer and more effective insulin therapy.
Prof Davis, who is Professor of Supramolecular Chemistry at the University of Bristol, added: “The glucose responsive insulin we will develop with Novo Nordisk combines a natural molecule (insulin) with an artificial component (Ziylo’s glucose-binding molecules). This combination of natural and unnatural could be a new approach to biodesign.
“These unique molecules were inspired by nature and work in much the same way as natural glucose receptors. A group of chemists, called supramolecular chemists, have been working on this problem for many years. Often, they make molecules which behave quite like natural molecules, but usually they don’t work quite well enough for real-world applications.
“The success of the Ziylo molecules shows that, with persistence, the problems can be solved and that biological molecules can be matched as well as mimicked.”
Certain research activities have been spun out of Ziylo to a new company called Carbometrics, which has entered into research collaboration with Novo Nordisk to assist with ongoing optimisation of glucose binding molecules for use in glucose responsive insulins.
Carbometrics has licensed rights to develop non-therapeutic applications of glucose binding molecules, with a focus on developing continuous glucose monitoring applications. It will remain at Unit DX and remains closely associated with the university.
University of Bristol pro vice-chancellor for research Prof Nishan Canagarajah said: “The university is proud of its cutting-edge research which has potential to generate major societal impact. It is gratifying to see our research being developed to the point where it has the potential to make a real difference to people’s lives.
“The acquisition of Ziylo by Novo Nordisk will allow this technology to take the next leap forward – well done to the team at Ziylo and to Prof Davis and his team at the university for getting to this exciting point.”
Pictured: Ziylo founders Tom Smart, left, and Dr Harry Destecroix
