About Biotangents

Innovation is at our core

Biotangents is a veterinary diagnostics company based in Scotland. Using our highly adaptable molecular diagnostic technology, Moduleic Sensing™, we are developing AmpliSpec™ diagnostic tests to detect a variety of infectious diseases in livestock.

The Biotangents approach

Biotangents was founded in 2015 by Dr Andy Hall-Ponselè and Lina Gasiūnaitė to apply the expertise they had developed in gene technologies to improving the sustainability of traditional industries. This led them to invent (patent pending) Moduleic Sensing™, a versatile diagnostic technology that has the potential to be used across multiple sectors including human healthcare and environmental monitoring. Seeing the challenges faced by the livestock industry, Biotangents chose to implement Moduleic Sensing™ in the livestock infectious diseases market. For more about the history of Biotangents, see our company history page.

Our core values are pragmatism, fairness, integrity and proactivity. We aim to undertake our work in a way that embodies these values while being conscious of its potential environmental and societal impacts. We also seek to continuously develop our employees to ensure that our values are consistently being held across all aspects of the company. For more information on this and our approach to responsible innovation, see our values page.

Livestock infectious diseases

There were 7.7 billion people on Earth in 2019, and the demand for protein from animal sources (meat and dairy) has never been higher than it is today. With a global population expected to reach 10 billion people in 2055 and increasing personal wealth, this demand is forecast to continue to grow.

Meanwhile, livestock farming faces significant challenges from infectious diseases, which currently reduce animal productivity by 20%. Climate change and globalisation have the potential to impact this further by allowing diseases to rapidly spread into new geographies. Add in the fact that new infectious diseases of animals (75% of which can spread to humans) emerge at the rate of five per year, as well as the increasing occurrence of antimicrobial resistant infections, and the risks are significant.

Reducing the impact of infectious diseases on livestock farming will allow animal protein to be produced more efficiently, allowing demand to be met in the most sustainable way possible. Identifying infection is the first port of call when managing infectious diseases. Identifying infections at the earliest possible point allows the infected animal to be managed in the most effective way, minimising the chance of the disease spreading and so protecting other animals, humans and reducing the demand for antibiotics.

For more information on our disease areas of focus, see our disease page.

Memberships

Biotangents are proud to be members of NOAH, CIEL (Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock) and BIA (UK Bioindustry Association).

References

United Nations Department of Economic Social Affairs (2017) 2017 Revision of World Population Prospects at https://population.un.org/wpp/
Cao Y, Li D (2013) Impact of increased demand for animal protein products in Asian countries: Implications on global food security. Anim Front 3: 48–55.
Jarvis L, Valdes-Donoso P. (2015) A Selective Review of the Economic Analysis of Animal Health Management. Journal of Agricultural Economics. 69(1):201-225.
Altizer S, Ostfeld RS, Johnson PTJ, Kutz S, Harvell CD (2013) Climate Change and Infectious Diseases: From Evidence to a Predictive Framework. Science (80- ) 341: 514–519.
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) (2015) Animal Health A Multifaceted Challenge.
McEachran A, Blackwell B, Hanson J, Wooten K, Mayer G, Cox S et al. (2015) Antibiotics, Bacteria, and Antibiotic Resistance Genes: Aerial Transport from Cattle Feed Yards via Particulate Matter. Environmental Health Perspectives