Biotech startup ResBiotic raises $3m seed round, announces leadership team

University of Alabama at Birmingham's biotech startup ResBiotic, announced a $3 million seed round to support the development and commercialization of groundbreaking probiotic formulations for lung health. The round was funded from a private equity syndicate led by Timberline Holdings.  

ResBiotic is the flagship company of ResBiotech Innovation Institute, founded by physician scientist Dr. C Vivek Lal in 2020. ResBiotic's first product, a medical food that targets the gut-lung axis, was developed in Dr. Lal's Pulmonary Microbiome Lab at UAB with research and expertise from the university's Microbiome Center, Lung Health Center and Translational Research in Normal & Disordered Development (TReNDD) program. The proprietary probiotic blend has been shown to reduce neutrophilic inflammation in individuals with chronic respiratory conditions. The company's research and development pipeline also includes pharmabiotics for multiple chronic lung diseases.

C. Vivek Lal, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, ResBiotic: "This funding event is a critical step towards making these evidence-based treatments accessible to the general population, giving patients and pulmonary specialists a solution to help reduce inflammation in chronic lung diseases..With strategic and manufacturing partners in place, the ResBiotic team is on track to bring our first product to market in early 2022."

Braxton Goodrich, Manager, Timberline Holdings: "There are billions of people around the world affected by respiratory conditions. We're proud to be able to support a top notch team commercializing a critical innovation with the potential to transform standards of respiratory care." Braxton will serve on the ResBiotic Board of Directors.

In addition to the seed funding, Dr. Lal has established an elite leadership team. Internationally renowned probiotics expert Scott Bush will serve as the Executive Vice President of Strategy. Birmingham based entrepreneur Dr. Sanjay Singh is a business advisor. Prominent UAB scientists Drs. Casey Morrow, Namasivayam Ambalavanan and James Mike Wells will serve on the initial Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Amit Gaggar, an internationally renowned pulmonary scientist and endowed Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UAB, will serve as the Chief Medical Officer. Andrew O'Connor, an engineer and MBA from Harvard University, will lead operations as the company's Chief Operating Officer. The company will be based at Innovation Depot.

Jon Nugent, Vice President of Innovation, Birmingham Business Alliance: "Physicians, scientists and entrepreneurs like Dr. Lal are charting a course for other Birmingham innovators to follow. With the recruitment of a world-class team to transform the discoveries in Dr. Lal's lab into market-ready solutions, ResBiotic is quickly becoming a unique Birmingham success story." Nugent has served as an advisor to the company.

resbiotic.com