6 December 2022 - - Mike Romanos is stepping down as CEO of UK-based microbiome-based therapeutics and biomarkers developer Microbiotica, handing over the CEO role to current COO Tim Sharpington, the company said.

Microbiotica is a player in microbiome-based therapeutics and biomarkers. The company's platform enables unrivalled strain-level microbiome analysis linked to patient phenotypes.

In March 2022, the company raised a GBP 50m series B to fund Phase 1b clinical trials in immuno-oncology and ulcerative colitis and the expansion of its pipeline to other indications.

The fundraise was the largest microbiome-related financing in Europe to date.
Tim Sharpington, currently chief operating officer, will become CEO from 1 January, 2023.

Mike will be leaving Microbiotica at the end of the year in order to start a new position as Associate Dean of Enterprise in the Faculty of Medicine at Imperial College, London.

As the founding CEO, Mike has led Microbiotica over six years to become one of a leaders in the microbiome sector.

Tim Sharpington has established a track record of leading, developing and executing company strategy, with experience in product development, fundraising, M&A and licensing.

He has over 30 years' experience in senior executive and non-executive roles in pharma, biotech and CROs across Europe and the US, and has developed multiple approved products. Prior companies include Vectura, Arakis, ICON, Sequus and Open Orphan/hVIVO.

Microbiotica is a player in the field of microbiome-based therapeutics, biomarkers and targets.

The company is building a pipeline of differentiated products based on clinical datasets and unique bacterial signatures that drive biology, identified by its proprietary platform.

Consisting of the leading microbiome Reference Genome Database, Culture Collection, mass culturing technology (Personalised Bacterial Bank) and proprietary AI tools, Microbiotica's platform enables unrivalled strain-level microbiome analysis linked to patient phenotypes.

The company's current therapeutic areas of focus are immuno-oncology and IBD and it has established major clinical and academic partnerships in these areas.

Spun out of the Sanger Institute in 2016, the company is based at Chesterford Research Park near Cambridge, UK. Microbiotica's investor syndicate includes British Patient Capital, Cambridge Innovation Capital, Flerie Invest, IP Group plc, Seventure Partners, and Tencent.