Second Tenant announced: P.Happi®

A pioneering UK women’s health startup is bringing microbiome-based manufacturing to our North Acton Innovation Hub from July 2026 — a different sector to our first tenant, but the same story of science moving from research into scale.

We’re delighted to announce P.Happi^® a pioneering UK women’s health startup developing microbiome-based products, as the second company to take up space at our new Innovation Hub at 1 Portal Way, North Acton.

P.Happi^®will establish laboratory facilities at 1 Portal Way to scale the production of its patented microbiome-based active ingredient, Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus (B.Y.M.^® 1405) a naturally occurring bacterium at the heart of the company’s consumer health range.

The move marks a critical step in P.Happi^®’s evolution from research-led startup into a manufacturer capable of supporting more women with its intimate health solutions, while remaining embedded in the Imperial College London ecosystem.

“P.Happi^®’s journey is a strong example of how science-led ideas can progress from early research into real-world impact. Chiara founded the company within the Imperial ecosystem, and it’s exciting to see P.Happi® now taking the important step into manufacturing at Sciopolis. This is exactly the kind of transition we aim to support — enabling talented founders to stay connected to Imperial while gaining the space and infrastructure needed to scale responsibly.”

Graham Hewson, Head of Incubation & Prototyping Spaces, Imperial College London

From lived experience to a manufacturing-ready company

P.Happi^® was founded by Dr Chiara Board, a scientist-turned-entrepreneur with a PhD from Imperial College London.

The company began from a lived problem rather than a piece of technology: a frustration with the lack of innovation in women’s intimate health, where recurrent issues such as UTIs are too often managed with short-term interventions rather than approaches that support long-term microbiome balance.

Founded within the Imperial innovation ecosystem and supported by Imperial Incubator, Imperial Enterprise Lab and the WE Innovate programme, P.Happi^® has since raised backing from leading investors including Mithril Capital, Calm/Storm, Firstminute Capital, Active Partners and SOSV.

Its products are now sold at Boots and Pharmacy2U.

After amazing reviews, and the company selling out of product, the next chapter is scaling its manufacturing.

From its lab at 1 Portal Way, a small team will produce the active ingredient powder that sits at the core of P.Happi^®’s product range. Producing on site allows the company to scale responsibly, maintain quality, and reduce reliance on a single external manufacturing partner.

“You can have great innovation, but if it stays on the bench it never reaches people who can benefit from it.

Frustrated by my own health journey, our mission has always been to bring meaningful innovation into women’s health and empower women with solutions they can easily access and use to better support themselves.

Manufacturing is the step that turns science into impact. Being able to manufacture at Sciopolis, in a space that fully understands how scientists operate and is backed by Imperial, gives us the confidence to scale production without unnecessary risk or disruption, and to support more women with their intimate health.”

 Dr Chiara Board — Founder, P.Happi^®

Why manufacturing is the missing middle

The UK has world-class science, but too often it gets stuck at the bench. Scale-up infrastructure and commercial translation are where things break down, and that’s exactly the gap we are aiming to close.

For a company at the production stage, the requirements are practical: cost-effective lab space that fits the margins of a scaling business, shared equipment that reduces capital outlay and a stable home that won’t disappear in twelve months.

With Imperial College London behind 1 Portal Way, Sciopolis offers the kind of long-term commitment that matters when you’re housing critical equipment and planning a production run rather than a pilot.

As Chiara says:

“I can’t afford to move equipment around - there’s always a risk something breaks. Knowing that Imperial is behind this gives me the confidence that the space won’t fold or vacate next year and we have a home to continuously produce and grow. Staying part of that great ecosystem matters.”

Part of a growing cluster

P.Happi^®’s arrival places them inside Imperial’s emerging Old Oak Innovation Cluster, part of WestTech London. They join Ki Hydrogen- our first tenant, announced in March- as part of a community of up to 30 science and technology scale-ups that 1 Portal Way is designed to support.

The cluster also includes Imperial’s nearby advanced manufacturing site, Grapht Works, a 9.6-acre industrial estate situated 5 minutes away from 1 Portal Way, that is being repurposed for prototyping and pilot-scale manufacturing.

Different sector, same challenge

Where Ki Hydrogen is tackling clean energy and P.Happi^® is advancing women’s microbiome health, the underlying challenge they share is the same: getting from research into reliable, repeatable production without leaving London or the network they grew up in.

That’s what 1 Portal Way is built for: 55,000 sq ft of fully fitted CL2 laboratories and flexible offices, with shared amenities, a café, and direct connections to Imperial Incubator’s support and network through an on-site Lab Manager. No upfront capital investment, and the stability of a hub developed in partnership with Imperial College London.

“P.Happi’s arrival demonstrates the breadth of innovation Sciopolis is designed to support. While operating in a very different sector to our first tenant, the challenge is the same — supporting ambitious science-led businesses as they move from innovation into manufacturing. Sciopolis exists to enable that transition in a stable, cost-effective environment that allows companies to grow without leaving London.”

Charlie Mitchell, CEO, Sciopolis

More to come: want to join us?

We’ll be announcing more tenants in the weeks ahead as we count down to our June opening.

• If your company is looking for space to grow, check out our available labs and office space in North Acton and please get in touch.

  
  

•  To come and have a look, pls contact us to get onto one of our TuesdayTours

  
  

• ABOUT P.HAPPI®: P.Happi® | Microbiome protection for your intimate area