Why did you start your spinout?
We were researching the fundamental cellular mechanisms that control the release of appetite-regulating hormones in response to dietary nutrients, specifically in human gastrointestinal tissue. We made a surprising discovery that led us to finding out that a specific nutrient combination activates L-cells leading to synergistic gut hormone release that drives the feeling of fullness or satiety.
We were very excited because these hormones help us control our appetite and food intake, an important pathway that goes wrong in obesity. So, our discovery suggested that we had a potentially new product to help obese people lose weight.
We created Enterika Ltd to take these findings forward and develop a commercial product. Starting a company allowed us to obtain funding from various sources including Innovate UK to begin our commercialisation journey.
What advice would you give to aspiring entrepreneurial academics?
Think about how your research can answer or solve real-world problems and pursue your research with a constant view of translating findings into solutions.
There are many aspects of research that offer potential sources of commercialisation – all of which come from understanding the key pathways and processes of a given area of interest.
Often, these are unexpected findings, as was the case for us, which requires an open mind that does not dismiss unusual data.
