A BRISTOL University PhD student is set to become one of Britain's richest men after his company was sold for around £600million.

Dr Harry Destecroix's company Ziylo has been acquired by Novo Nordisk, the world's biggest maker of diabetes drugs.

The deal - one of the largest for a University of Bristol spin-out - could revolutionise the treatment of diabetes.

The World Health Organization estimate that more than 382 million people across the world, including four million people in the UK, have diabetes. It is also the seventh leading cause of death in the world.

Everyone with Type 1 diabetes and some people with Type 2 diabetes must take insulin, either by injection or a pump, to control their blood glucose levels.

Ziylo has developed a new technology platform that offers the potential to develop glucose responsive insulins. This control would prevent hypoglycaemia, caused by a dangerous fall in blood glucose level.

The purchase gives Novo Nordisk full rights to Ziylo's glucose binding molecule platform.

Dr Harry Destecroix, 31, who only graduated with his chemistry PhD from the university in 2013, said: “Novo Nordisk is the ideal company to maximise the potential of our platform, to hopefully bring this truly ground breaking treatment to diabetes patients."

Since its formation four years ago, Ziylo has received just £2million in funding, from individual investors and government grants.

Mr Destecrois told the Financial Times: “Ziylo comes from a city that is not renowned for biotech companies. When we came out of the university in 2014, there was no lab space for us.

"So we set up a new science incubator in Bristol, which is now home to 25 science and engineering companies.”

Novo Nordisk could start clinical trials of products based on Ziylo technology within three years.

Marcus Schindler, Novo’s senior vice president for drug discovery, said the aim of the deal is to develop “a smart insulin that would self-regulate its activity based on glucose levels in the body."

Certain research activities have been spun out of Ziylo to a new company, Carbometrics, which has entered into research collaboration with Novo Nordisk.

The research and development work will take place in Novo’s new £115m diabetes research centre in Oxford, which will be inaugurated next month, as well as at its facilities in Denmark.

Professor Nishan Canagarajah, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Bristol, said: “The University is proud of its cutting-edge research which has potential to generate major societal impact.

"It is gratifying to see our research being developed to the point where it has the potential to make a real difference to people’s lives."