Women in Innovation Success Stories: Lydia Mapstone, BoobyBiome

Founded in response to the challenges that come with breastfeeding and a global rise in infant diseases, BoobyBiome is at the cutting edge of breast milk research, supported by a team of expert advisors alongside UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health.

When Lydia joined the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards, her team was researching the natural community of probiotic bacteria which live within breast milk, called the breast milk microbiome.

“We realised probiotic bacteria are closely adapted to the human body and were dying off in large numbers once breast milk was expressed. To counter this, we made a device which better preserved the bacteria in stored milk.

“I applied to the Women in Innovation programme for support to pivot our laboratory device into a product to help mothers at home store this vital component within their breast milk,” Lydia explained.

Reaching milestones, together

BoobyBiome has achieved many goals since joining the programme, namely submitting a patent, creating a commercial prototype and drafting a scientific publication on the discovery.

“These milestones have enabled us to rapidly move forward with product development and contribute to scientific discoveries within breast milk research,” said Lydia.

Lydia is part of a dynamic team of scientists who combine their expertise on a mission to improve infant health, but she has been both inspired and motivated by her cohort and advisors.

“My Women in Innovation advisor has been a great asset for sense-checking ideas, providing clarity on how to optimise running BoobyBiome and tips for strategising my next steps. This has driven me to help step up and take on mentoring positions myself.

“I have also been particularly inspired by the entrepreneurs in the cohort who have become mothers over the last year – showing that it is possible to have a baby and run a business!” Lydia said.

Overcoming barriers

Becoming an entrepreneur and finding solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges is a difficult task for anyone, but with the help of her team and the experts at Innovate UK, Lydia is making strides in the health and femtech space.

“Women and infant health research has historically been underfunded, with investment into femtech still being perceived as ‘niche’. There is a huge need for innovation in these sectors, however, with the majority of investors being men, explaining the complexities of breastfeeding and the need to find solutions for mothers and their babies is often an uphill battle,” Lydia said.

Despite these obstacles, BoobyBiome has welcomed the chance to grow on the programme whilst harnessing new opportunities.

“My Innovate UK Business Growth advisor, Nghia Tran, has been very valuable. She helped me conduct valuation exercises for my current fundraiser, pushed for me to get onto an extremely useful ‘Design for Growth’ accelerator organised by Innovate UK, and supported me to win a non-dilutive £15k RTO Catapult grant,” she explained. BoobyBiome has also secured a £1.6 million Biomedical Catalyst grant from Innovate UK. The funding will support the testing and scale-up of BoobyBiome’s Synbiotic, a supplement developed from the breast milk microbiome to improve gut health in infants.

BoobyBiome is poised to do a first trial in a neonatal intensive care unit with their device and launch it into the market early next year to parents via their website.

If you’re a budding entrepreneur who has been accepted onto the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards, Lydia shares some advice:

“Engage fully with your fellow award winners. It provides you with a ready-made network of really talented people who understand the value of mentoring and have likely been in your shoes before!”

Read more success stories from the Innovate UK Women in Innovation Awards.