Nemesis Bioscience and the EIC Accelerator: A Grant Lost to Brexit

Nemesis Bioscience, incorporated in 2014 and based in Cambridge, worked on a way to make antibiotics work again. Its Transmids were designed "to restore antibiotic sensitivity to a wide range of pathogens", re-sensitising resistant bacteria to antibiotics, as its administrators later described them. In July 2022 the company announced a €2 million EIC Accelerator grant for a two-year programme with Newcastle University to show that Transmids, delivered by harmless gut bacteria, could clear resistance genes from the mammalian gut.

No project for it appears on CORDIS. The administrators' statement of proposals, filed at Companies House in March 2023, explains why: "The United Kingdom's exit from the European Union in January 2020 led to the termination of a €2 million European Union grant for the Company." Nemesis made four applications for a UKRI Horizon replacement grant, the latest in November 2022, then withdrew them on 25 January 2023. Unable to raise money, it went into administration on 1 February 2023 with three staff, all made redundant. It was dissolved on 2 May 2024.

What Happened to Nemesis

According to Kroll, the administrators, Nemesis had raised £2.296 million in equity since incorporation and had £890,000 of debt when they were appointed. It needed substantial investment to keep testing Transmids with a research partner in Japan. By the end of January 2023 it had "failed to secure any additional funding from investors or external sources", including European grants and bridge funding. Its lab and IT equipment fetched £9,292; its intellectual property was sold for £1,000, according to the final progress report. Preferential creditors received a distribution; other creditors did not.

The Technology: Disarming Resistance Instead of Killing Bacteria

The company's technology was meant to allow rapid production of Transmids against pathogens with existing and emerging resistance, for products that both treat and prevent infections. The EIC project targeted resistance genes in an animal gut microbiome. The company had opened a pre-clinical development facility at Aberystwyth University in 2019, according to the Development Bank of Wales.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The award was to demonstrate in an animal model that Transmids delivered by gut bacteria could remove resistance genes and prevent their transmission. There is no CORDIS project, no report and no published result. By the administrators' account, the EU grant was terminated and the company collapsed before the work could be done.

1. In vivo demonstrationNot doneCompany in administration.
2. EU grantTerminatedBrexit, per administrators.
3. UK replacement grantNot obtainedFour applications withdrawn.
4. Technology preservedUnknownIP sold for £1,000.

The Money

Nemesis relied on government grants and its shareholders, the administrators wrote. It sought more funding in late 2022 "due to the withdrawal of expected European Union grant funding". When none came, the board confirmed on 31 January 2023 that it would start an insolvency process, and the company was placed in administration the next day.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

The EIC chose a company working on antibiotic resistance. According to its administrators, the grant then fell through because of Brexit, and the technology ended up sold for £1,000.

The Verdict

Nemesis Bioscience's former directors, its administrators and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.