- Based on over 10 year’s research in silica, EnsiliTech is a Bristol-based deeptech startup.
- The company’s patent-protected platform is helping to make storage of medicines and vaccines easier, opening global access to treatment.
- The technology, called Ensilication, works by adding a protective silica layer around each molecule. This stops them from breaking down and keeps them stable, even without refrigeration.
Website: www.ensilitech.com
What is EnsiliTech
EnsiliTech is a Bristol-based biotech startup that has found a new way to keep medicines and vaccines stable without needing a fridge or freezer.
Its patented Ensilication technology works by wrapping the medicine’s molecules in a silica shell, which prevents them from breaking down.
This could solve one of the biggest problems in healthcare: the “cold chain” – the expensive and wasteful process of needing to keep medicines chilled during storage and transport.
Founded in 2022 by Dr. Asel Sartbaeva, EnsiliTech’s technology could make lifesaving treatments easier and cheaper to deliver to people all over the world.
“A visit to a childhood vaccination clinic with my daughter motivated me to investigate the application of my research to the field of vaccines and other medicines. It was shocking to learn of the deaths of thousands of children around the globe, simply because effective vaccines are not able to reach them due to cold-chain failures.”
– Asel Sartbaeva, Co-Founder & CEO, EnsiliTech.
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What Makes EnsiliTech Unique?
EnsiliTech was founded with a clear mission: to make lifesaving medicines and vaccines easier to access for everyone, no matter where they live or what healthcare systems they have around them.
At the heart of this mission is their unique technology, Ensilication.
This patented technology works by coating medicines and vaccines in a thin layer of silica, keeping them stable even without a fridge.
By removing the need for constant refrigeration – which often wastes millions of pounds and stops treatments reaching people in remote areas – EnsiliTech is helping to make healthcare more accessible to people worldwide.
The company’s mission is also echoed in its team. The business is led by Dr. Asel Sartbaeva, a female CEO and powered by a small but diverse team that values trust and collaboration.
Together, they’re building a more sustainable and affordable way to deliver medicine worldwide.
Is There A Market For Technology Like Ensilication?
Today, biopharmaceuticals rely on a 50-year-old global ‘cold chain’ system, an expensive and energy-intensive system for refrigeration and freezing during transit and storage.
Cold chain failures are a huge problem for the pharmaceutical industry, costing an estimated £26 billion every year. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also found that up to half of all vaccines end up being wasted because they can’t be kept at the right temperature. This means millions of people in developing countries are left without access to vital treatments.
EnsiliTech offers a better way. Its solution, called Ensilication, is a low-cost and sustainable method that can keep medicines stable at temperatures of up to 50°C, without relying on refrigeration or lyophilisation, the current but highly energy-intensive preservation process.
EnsiliTech’s work has already been widely applauded. The company has won major awards including the Royal Society of Chemistry Emerging Technologies Competition, the AHNTI Production Showcase audience choice award (2024), Start-up of the Year South West (2025), EntreConf Science and Female Entrepreneur of the Year (2024) and the Leadership Awards South West (2025).
Investors have also shown strong support, with two oversubscribed funding rounds completed, most recently a £4.5 million seed round.
On top of this, EnsiliTech has received Innovate UK grant funding to help grow its sustainable technology for antibody production and to develop a new ensilicated vaccine for future pandemics.
What Technology Does EnsiliTech Have?
EnsiliTech’s Ensilication® technology platform – protected by several patents – creates protective layers of silica around individual biomolecules, preventing breakdown and degradation.
It is simple, cost-efficient and can be applied during production (formulation) to existing processes, creating products that do not rely on cold-chain for transport and storage. Simply put, ensilicated products do not need fridges for transport and storage.
Once a biomolecule has been ensilicated, it can be stored and transported around the world without the need for fridges or freezers. Ensilication will also improve the shelf life of products, making it easier for countries to stockpile products for sudden disease outbreaks and humanitarian situations.
EnsiliTech’s goal is to create a new gold standard for keeping medicines stable. Its technology aims to make almost all biopharmaceuticals safe to store at room temperature, removing the need for expensive and fragile cold chain systems.
EnsiliTech plans to license its technology to biopharma companies, giving them the technology to create heat-stable versions of their medicines.
This means they’ll be able to develop, manufacture, get regulatory approval for and bring to market vaccines, antibody treatments and other drugs that no longer depend on cold storage.
Find Out More About EnsiliTech
To find out more about EnsiliTech, find them at their website www.ensilitech.com
