Magnitude Biosciences, a Durham University spinout, has secured £1.3 million in investment to grow its approach to drug discovery and expand work with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
The new funding round was led by Northstar Ventures, with investment from the North East Spinout Inspire Fund, the North East Innovation Fund and the Northstar EIS Growth Fund.
Maven Capital Partners’ NPIF II Fund and Finance Durham Fund also invested, alongside angel investors.
The Sedgefield-based company is a contract research organisation, using nematode worms, known as C. elegans, to help researchers identify promising treatments for ageing, longevity and neurodegenerative diseases.
Its VivoScan™ platform allows thousands of drug compounds to be tested using a living organism.
By combining the worms with advanced imaging, machine learning, artificial intelligence and automation, Magnitude can produce information about how treatments affect health and disease in weeks rather than years.
The investment will help Magnitude Biosciences increase the scale of its VivoScan™ platform, invest in equipment and automation, expand its commercial work with pharmaceutical companies and recruit staff.
The company also expects to access £217,000 through an Innovate UK Investor Partnership grant.
Dr Fozia Saleem, CEO of Magnitude Biosciences, said the investment would help the company pursue its ambition to screen millions of compounds in a whole organism using worms.
She said the platform could go beyond testing more compounds by generating biological information that helps researchers understand how potential therapies affect health, ageing and disease.
The success of Magnitude Biosciences highlights Durham’s track record in turning research into impact through collaboration with industry and the creation of spinout companies.
With more than 140 projects delivered across 15 countries, Magnitude says its technology is trusted by clients working in drug discovery, health and nutrition, and ageing biology.
The company aims to become a leading provider of next-generation drug screening services, supporting the development of better drug candidates earlier and helping to speed up the search for new treatments.
The investment also strengthens the North East’s reputation as a centre for life sciences innovation.
Image – (from left) Dr Chris Saunter, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer with Dr Fozia Saleem, CEO of Magnitude Biosciences.
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