Five SA biotech companies to watch in 2018 [Digital All Stars]
Summary
For example, setting up a simple lab alone can cost more than R5-million.However, despite these barriers to entry, there are a number of SA companies that are doing well, with some even securing customers around the world.Below is a list of five such firms we think you should watch out for in 2018.This Pretoria-based award winning biotech startup develops low cost rapid medical diagnostic solutions used in testing for viruses, bacterial and fungal infections. Last year the startup won R50 000 as the best prototype at the Department of Science and Technologys Innovation Bridge.Earlier this month, the startups founders attended the Collision Conference in New Orleans, in the US, where they exhibited one of their flagship products, the Field Lab a confirmatory mobile diagnostics lab.We have been invited to apply for funding from four different programmes and numerous other investors have requested more information and showed intention in taking the next step. We are very happy with the outcomes from Collision and we are looking forward to building on what we have learnt, the founders told Ventureburn in an email earlier this month.Read more: SA startup Akili Labs to exhibit affordable mobile lab at US tech conferenceSince Lotter and Faul started the company they have raised over R1.2-million in funding. We hope to conclude this round soon as this will allow us to move forward rapidly towards our goals for the company, the duo said.Beoonics founded by Ernst Thompson and Paul Collett claims its flagship product, Vivocare, raises profits per poultry unit by decreasing poultry grower costs, and that it improves food efficacy as well as poultry survival rates.The company is a member of Cape Town-based hardware tech incubator Savant, was last year (2017) nominated by the incubator to participate in the annual Swiss SA Advanced Technology Entrepreneur programme, an initiative of the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), University of Basels Institut f\xfcr Jungunternehmen and Venturelab.In a call with Ventureburn yesterday (21 May), Thompson said Beonics has a lot of products in the pipeline which he said the company will probably launch next year, most likely under a different company.Thompson, who travelled to the US last month, said the company is looking to set up a presence in the US market. Earlier this year the company received a R14-million grant from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) to refine its technology.In phone call yesterday (21 May) Bewsey said the company will use the grant to finance its Krugersdorp-based pilot plant.He claims the companys underground black water waste water treatment process is capable of treating water profitably, compared to other treatment methods which he says lose money.Cape Town-based BioTech Africa is the sole manufacturer in Africa that produces recombinant proteins, a key component of diagnostic test kits used to test for HIV and a range of other diseases, including Hepatitis C and the Zika virus.