Magnitude Biosciences, a specialist contract research organisation (CRO) in County Durham offering in vivo discovery of treatments for age-related conditions and other diseases using C. elegans, has secured over £700,000 in combined funding to scale up its high-throughput screening (HTS) platform.

The investment was led by Maven’s managed regional funds including NPIF II - Maven Equity Finance, which is managed by Maven as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II, the Finance Durham Fund, established by Durham County Council and overseen by Business Durham, as well as continued support from existing investors Northstar Ventures. The investment was matched with grant funding from Innovate UK through the Investor Partnerships: Digital Technologies North East programme.

This funding will enable Magnitude Biosciences to enhance its proprietary WormGazer® technology, integrating robotics, machine learning, and liquid culture systems to create a novel HTS platform capable of screening thousands of compounds per week. By rapidly analysing whole-organism data with advanced machine-learning technology, this platform enables pharmaceutical, nutrition, and health supplement companies to quickly identify compounds that may support healthier aging—accelerating discovery, lowering costs, and reducing reliance on traditional animal models.

The expansion will create high-skilled jobs in robotics, software engineering, and biological sciences at the company’s base in NETPark (Sedgefield) strengthening the North East’s reputation as a growing hub for digital and life science innovation

We’re incredibly grateful for the support from Innovate UK, Maven and Northstar as we scale our HTS platform,” said Dr Fozia Saleem, CEO of Magnitude Biosciences. “This funding accelerates our mission to revolutionise drug discovery bringing life-changing therapies to patients faster, cutting costs and timelines, and transforming how we tackle the world’s toughest-to-treat diseases while reducing dependence on traditional animal models.”

“Magnitude Biosciences is building the kind of scalable, high-impact technology we look for at Maven, their HTS platform addresses a real need in early drug discovery,” said Michael Dickens, Investment Manager at Maven Capital Partners. “Fozia is also an excellent role model for the region, through her work at Magnitude and as the Vice Chair of the Lifted Project Newcastle Board, where she is helping drive greater investment into female led businesses. We are delighted to support Fozia and her team on their exciting journey.”

“The North East is increasingly becoming an epicentre for innovation in the UK and Magnitude Biosciences is a good example of the technology-enabled businesses that NPIF II is able to champion.”, added Sarah Newbould, Senior Investment Manager at British Business Bank. “Empowering female leaders in the science and technology space is also crucial to enabling a more diverse and prosperous economy. We’re excited to see the impact the business will achieve, creating jobs in the region and furthering the important work they are committed to.”

 “Magnitude Biosciences is a fantastic example of the type of innovative, high-growth business that Finance Durham was established to support,” said Kerry Walker, Business Growth Director at Business Durham: “We’re proud to back their continued development at NETPark, where they are not only scaling cutting-edge drug discovery technologies but also playing a vital role in the strength and vibrancy of the science park community.”

“We’re proud to continue supporting Magnitude Biosciences alongside Innovate UK as they bring their next-gen screening platform to market,” said Alex Buchan, Investment Director at Northstar Ventures. “The North East is fast becoming a hub for digital and life sciences innovation, and this project adds to that momentum.”

Magnitude’s HTS platform will allow companies to test large compound libraries at speed and scale, creating a step-change in the generation of preclinical in vivo data for the selection of compounds for discovering new therapeutic drugs. With initial pilot work already underway with top-10 pharma clients, the new funding will help Magnitude Biosciences scale delivery, grow its team, and expand its impact on drug development.

The grant funding was awarded under Innovate UK’s Investor Partnerships - Digital Technologies North East competition, which aims to connect ambitious UK businesses with aligned private capital. Magnitude Biosciences’ selection for the programme reflects the strategic importance of its work in enabling scalable, ethical, and cost-effective early-stage drug discovery

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Using their proprietary imaging technology – WormGazer TM – Magnitude Biosciences can continuously monitor the effects of compounds on C. elegans over the course of the worms’ very short lifespan and generate a petabyte of rich data each week for multiple research areas.

Dr Fozia Saleem, who joined Magnitude Biosciences as CEO in October 2022, said the WormGazer TM software algorithm is akin to that used by NASA to track objects in space. “WormGazer TM allows us to track the worm’s every movement and understand how their health and behaviour changes over time,” she said.

“As scientists and institutes increasingly look to improve the population’s healthspan – that is, helping a young population age in a way that adds life to their years rather than years to their life – then our aim is to become the go-to clinical research company for screening thousands of compound libraries and novel lifestyle products.”

Magnitude Biosciences, which was founded in 2018 by biosciences expert Dr David Weinkove and physicist Dr Christopher Saunters, has grown its NETPark workforce to 19 employees, working in lab space and offices in both Plexus and Orbit.

In June 2023, it secured a Future Economy Investor Partnerships grant of almost £250,000 from Innovate UK, which was matched by an investment from the North East Innovation Fund, supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Northstar Ventures Limited.

Fozia said the investment will help accelerate research and growth. “We expect to more than double the team in Sedgefield to 45 over the next two to three years, with a larger commercial team allowing us to expand our global footprint,” she said. “We also want to expand our current service offering to include new neurodegenerative and cognition assays and tap into the pharma, health and nutrition sector.”

With an ambitious five-year growth trajectory, Magnitude Biosciences intends to stay on NETPark. Fozia said the science park provides a conducive environment and a collaborative ecosystem that fosters innovation.

“There’s a thriving start-up community and many unique companies who are not in direct competition, and we regularly collaborate,” she said. “I’m excited about NETPark’s Phase 3 expansion, and I’d like Magnitude Biosciences to be part of that growth and, in time, one of the flag bearers with a purpose-built facility.”

Sarah Slaven, Managing Director of Business Durham, the business support service for Durham County Council, said: “By harnessing the resources and support provided by NETPark, with contributions from CPI and Durham University, Magnitude Biosciences is not only thriving but making enduring contributions to the field of biotechnology. Its journey exemplifies the vital role that collaborative research environments, which blend academic knowledge with practical application, play in fostering groundbreaking advancements in biotechnological innovation. The synergy between academia and industry provided by Durham University and CPI strengthens the foundation upon which pioneering biotechnological innovations can flourish."

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