Cambridge-based Semarion, a University of Cambridge spin‑out from the Cavendish Laboratory integrating materials engineering and cell biology, has secured £2.9 million ($3.8 million) to expand manufacturing and commercial capacity for its SemaCyte® microcarrier platform.
The round was led by Parkwalk, with participation from The FSE Group, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Oxford Innovation Finance, Found Capital, Cambridge Capital Group, and Start Codon. The investment will enable the company to scale production, strengthen customer support infrastructure, and accelerate partnerships with pharmaceutical and life‑science tools providers across the US and Europe.
Turning adherent cells into assay‑ready reagents
Semarion, founded in 2018 by Jeroen Verheyen, Tarun Vemulkar, and Professor Russell Cowburn, addresses one of drug discovery’s biggest inefficiencies: handling adherent cells at scale. Traditional cell‑based assays are constrained by complex handling requirements that limit experimental throughput and reproducibility.
Semarion’s SemaCyte® platform offers a fundamentally different approach. By converting adherent cells into barcoded, assay‑ready microcarriers, researchers can treat cells like reagents, multiplex multiple models within a single workflow, and generate richer datasets. The company estimates the platform can unlock up to tenfold increases in data generation while reducing manual bottlenecks that slow early‑stage screening.
Semarion’s technology has already been adopted by several top‑10 global pharmaceutical companies, with pilot programmes across the US and Europe progressing toward commercial rollout. The platform has also been integrated into key workflows by major automation and analytical tool providers.
Semarion’s technology has already been adopted by several top‑10 global pharmaceutical companies, with pilot programmes across the US and Europe progressing toward commercial rollout. The platform has also been integrated into key workflows by major automation and analytical tool providers.
Building a platform for the next phase of discovery
Revvity has built SemaCyte® compatibility into its imaging and analysis platforms, while SPT Labtech is embedding the microcarrier system into its automated liquid-handling technologies, thereby extending scalability and reproducibility across high‑throughput screening environments.
John Pearson, Chief Investment Officer, Parkwalk, said: “Parkwalk is excited to be supporting the development of Semarion’s technology that has the potential to make a step change in cell-based research, accelerating a critical path in drug discovery. We are backing a team that has proven it can execute in delivering a product that works and can be adopted in customer workflows. This funding will allow Semarion to scale, reaching its full potential and creating value for investors and making a real-world impact.”
With this new funding, Semarion will expand its manufacturing throughput, grow its field application and commercial teams, and continue to advance strategic collaborations with leading pharmaceutical and tool companies.
