Our breakthrough technology combines synthetic and stem cell biology, offering limitless possibilities. Enabling a new generation of cell therapies, providing the best human cells for research and drug discovery, and allowing the control of advanced synthetic biology circuits for biomanufacturing.

Precise reprogramming of cells

Using opti-ox™ reprogramming stem cells into functional skeletal muscle (9-day time course; final contraction assay by addition of acetylcholine)

opti-ox™ is capable of producing batches of every cell in the human body at scale and gives us the power to precision engineer human cells. This is because it reliably activates specific transcription factors within the cells.

Transcription factors tell a cell what to do because they control the programs (gene regulatory networks) of the cell. Together, these form the operating system of life. opti-ox™ is the ‘enter’ key we can press to run these programs – it is the engineering tool we need to produce consistent cells at scale.

Batch to batch reproducibility for applications including high throughput screening and cell therapy

Unprecedented purity results compared to current technologies

Industrial-scale quantities and order-of-magnitude lower costs

Production takes days not months results in significant associated benefits

Cell products

Human-induced
glutamatergic
neurons

Human-induced
skeletal
myocytes

Our team

Biology turns engineering

As we reach the “read/write” stage of biology, evolution is proving to be the ultimate algorithm, allowing us to increasingly program biological systems. A foundational shift in biology from being an empirical science towards becoming an engineered discipline is underway.

Ramy Ibrahim

MD, Chief Medical Officer

Ramy is a leading immuno-oncology clinician who has helped to develop some of the breakthrough therapies in this field. Ramy has served as the Vice President of Clinical Development for Immuno-oncology at AstraZeneca, and as a member of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Immuno-oncology program. Ramy also sits on the board at the Parker Institute of Cancer Immunotherapy.

Mark Kotter

MD, PhD, Founder/CEO

Mark is a stem cell biologist and neurosurgeon at the University of Cambridge. By combining synthetic and stem cell biology, his team has developed a benchmark technology for the efficient and consistent production of human cells for use in research, drug development, and cell therapy. He is the founder of bit.bio and co-founder of the cultured meat startup Meatable.

Paul Morrill

PhD, Chief Business Officer

Paul is a serial entrepreneur and scientist with over thirty years of experience in the biotech and pharma sectors. Most recently, he was the commercial founder and President of Horizon Discovery Group, and founder of CellRx Limited, a growth factors company serving the biopharmaceutical sector. Paul holds a PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Cambridge.

Roger Pedersen

PhD, Chief Scientific Advisor

Roger is a pioneer and thought leader in the field of human stem cell biology. His lab was the first to isolate pluripotent epiblast stem cells from the epiblast layer of the developing mammalian embryo. In addition, he developed one of the first cellular reprogramming protocols. Roger was co-founder of the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. His lab is currently focused on differentiation of pluripotent stem cells, with potential applications for drug discovery, toxicity testing and cell therapies.

Florian Schuster

CFO / COO

Florian is an active entrepreneur and investor. He is the co-founder of bit.bio. Previously, he was CFO & Head of Strategic Partnerships for Tessa Therapeutics, a clinical-stage cell therapy company. Florian is a former investment banker, a graduate of the Stanford School of Engineering, and an alumnus of Harvard Business School.

Marius Wernig

PhD, SAB Member

Marius’ seminal 2010 paper in Nature demonstrating direct conversion of fibroblasts into neurons has sparked a widespread interest in cell reprogramming. He is the co-director of the Stanford Stem Cell Institute. His lab uses cellular reprogramming to understand how neurons are induced, and how they mature and maintain their identity.