Andrew Mearns Spragg

Andrew is a scientific entrepreneur and marine biotechnology pioneer with a successful track record of growing venture backed technology businesses. Commercially astute with natural leadership, management and interpersonal skills – A lateral thinker, persuasive and tenacious, Andrew has an extensive international contact network across med-tech, healthcare, nutrition, consumer care, industrial biotechnology sectors. Andrew brings core business development and technology vision (scientific strategy & management) as well as contributing at a high level of strategic vision of Jellagen’s future.

Andrew holds a first-class BSc degree in Microbiology and PhD in Marine Biotechnology from Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh. Andrew was awarded a Royal Society of Edinburgh Enterprise Fellowship at St. Andrews University in 2000 to support the creation of his first marine biotechnology enterprise.

For the past 18 years, his career has focused on the creation of companies involved with the commercial exploitation of marine biotechnologies. Andrew has successfully raised to date over £16M in equity finance from VCs and Angels and has secured competitive grant funding from EU and UK sources worth >£3M. He was the recipient of the 2007 Gannochy Award and Medal from the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland’s highest award for Innovation and his entrepreneurial achievements were recognised through winning the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the year 2008 in Health Care for Scotland. Andrew was elected a member of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy from 2011 – 2015 and holds Honorary Professorships from the University of Stirling (2012-2016) and University of the Highlands and Islands. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the Royal Society of Biology.

Andrew founded Jellagen in 2013, where he raised more than £6.5M, established in-house collagen standards and first data set. He also built the first manufacturing plant of Jellyfish Collagen. At the occasion of the second funding round, he decided to step down from his CEO role to fully dedicate his time, knowledge and energy to the scientific potential of the company. Andrew is now member of the Executive Committee, responsible for Scientific and Technology strategy, Product Development and Business Development activities.