Scaling a bio sciences business; Gramics Bio’s growth journey

“I’ve always enjoyed working with people who want to solve problems”, says Oli Rayner, Co-Founder and CEO of Gramics Bio.

Established in 2024, under the name ‘Panthura’, Gramics Bio is on a mission to engineer a new class of gene therapy to unlock disease-modifying treatment for people with genetic diseases.

Joining former investment banker and venture capital funder, Rayner, in that quest is Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr Alice Preston. Preston is a cell biologist and biotech innovator passionate about translating scientific ideas into real-world products.

Their flagship program is a gene therapy for people with cystic fibrosis, a condition with deep personal resonance for Rayner. “I was born with cystic fibrosis”, he says, but “I was very lucky.” Despite a difficult prognosis and periods of severe illness, following surgery in 2017, Rayner now has a normal life expectancy.

That lived experience ignited a passion for patient advocacy in Rayner, who threw himself into improving patient access to emerging cystic fibrosis treatments. Working with patient organisations, he established a clinical trial network in the UK, raising around £3 million for it. The network now has around 30 specialist UK centres signed up, broadening access to the latest therapies and reducing barriers to participation.

Establishing Gramics Bio

Rayner’s experience of establishing the network gave him invaluable knowledge of the science underpinning the treatment of cystic fibrosis, insights into the working of the NHS, and a network of trusted relationships in biomedical innovation.

Realising that he could do more, he turned his attention to the 10-15% of people with gene mutations for whom conventional treatments don’t work. An introduction to Preston followed and, backed by funding from the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Deep Science Ventures, Panthura (renamed Gramics Bio in January 2026) was created.

Its objective: to take an idea of Preston’s and develop it into a new way of doing gene therapy – one that has lower associated risk and is both long-lasting and cost effective to produce.  

While the company’s foundational program targets cystic fibrosis, the challenge of matching long-lasting effective treatment with safe, scalable and re-dosable delivery vehicles exists across all genetic diseases. Gramics Bio hopes to resolve this by applying the science and technology developed in its cystic fibrosis program to unlock the promise of gene therapy across the full spectrum of genetic diseases.

Funding challenges

Along with the scientific and technological challenges that come with a project of this nature, much like any start-up, securing funding has had its challenges. Particularly in an environment that Rayner describes as “difficult” for early-stage companies.

Although an initial funding round in 2024 was followed by a subsequent successful funding round in 2025, Rayner also wanted to explore innovation incentives, including R&D tax relief and grant funding. “We need to be able to demonstrate to equity investors that we’re making proper use of these”, Rayner acknowledges.

While he had considered preparing an R&D claim himself, he was conscious that for companies like Gramics Bio, where outsourcing is important, it is beneficial to have an adviser who knows the intricacies of the overseas R&D rules.

So, when Rayner was introduced to ForrestBrown Director, James Dudbridge, at an event, he was all ears. “He was very enthusiastic about what we were doing”, says Rayner. “He understood why it was exciting and important.”

Pro bono claim support

Such is the belief in the business and the pioneering work it is undertaking, that Dudbridge’s enthusiasm evolved into a formal offer of support: to prepare Gramics Bio’s first R&D tax relief claim on a pro bono basis.

The ForrestBrown team drew on its in-house scientific experts to qualify its R&D, before preparing and submitting a rigorous claim that would meet HMRC’s requirements.

The relief received with ForrestBrown’s support has, according to Rayner, been critical to the business. “To receive a cash credit on the money we’ve spent on R&D, is hugely significant. It creates additional runway and enables us to accelerate our R&D programme.”

As it is non-dilutive, it also means that Rayner and Preston aren’t giving away more equity in the business. “We run a lean operation and focus our resources on R&D to hit key development milestones”, says Rayner.

What’s next for Gramics Bio?

While the business remains early stage, the long-term plan, says Rayner, is to “develop it through to clinical trials and then partner with a bigger company to take it to market.”

In the meantime, proof of concept data is expected, which they expect to validate their technology and enable them to file for patent protection. They’ve also recently set up a new laboratory space in Oxford, enabling them to have greater control over their IP and innovation.

From a funding perspective, Rayner hopes to be able to benefit from innovation incentives in the future as the business grows, problems are solved and milestones met.

As to ForrestBrown’s part in Gramics Bio’s journey, we were proud to be able to support the business at such a critical time in its funding journey, when resources are precious and time of the essence.

As Dudbridge sums up: “We play an infinitesimally small part in the lifecycle of a pioneering business like Gramics Bio, but we are immensely proud to have them as our first pro bono client.

Their mission is an inspiration, and with such an impressive vision and dedicated team, I have no doubt that Gramics Bio will go on to do brilliant things in the life sciences sector. We all look forward to supporting them on that journey.”