Silvia Bio, a University of Sheffield biotechnology spinout focused on improving the manufacturing of complex biological medicines, has raised £3 million in Seed funding.
The Round
The round was led by Northern Gritstone, with additional investment from the Northern Universities Venture Fund(managed by Parkwalk), the UK Innovation & Science Seed Fund (managed by Future Planet Capital), Wren Capitaland angel investors. The Northern Universities Venture Fund is managed by Parkwalk in collaboration with Northern Gritstone and supports companies emerging from universities across Northern England.
The Problem
As biological medicines grow more complex, the mammalian cells used to manufacture therapeutics such as antibodies and gene therapies can struggle to produce them consistently, leading to lower yields, variable product quality and longer development timelines. The company says more than half of new biological medicines are now considered difficult to manufacture, and delays can carry significant commercial consequences for biopharma companies.
The Platform
Silvia Bio is building an integrated platform that identifies the biological bottlenecks limiting the performance of manufacturing cells. It uses proprietary cell profiling to create detailed “fingerprints” of how cells behave during manufacturing, identifies the factors driving underperformance, and then formulates bioreactor-compatible media additives to improve product yields and critical quality attributes.
The platform gives biopharma companies both diagnostic information about their manufacturing problems and practical products that can be added directly to existing production processes.
Silvia Bio was founded by Ed Curry, Melinda Pohle, Professor Adam Brown and Professor David James, building on more than 20 years of biomanufacturing research at the University of Sheffield.
Ed Curry, CEO and co-founder, said: “The medicines being developed today have the potential to transform patients’ lives, but many are becoming harder and more expensive to manufacture. Our platform gives biopharmaceutical companies a much clearer view of why their cells are underperforming and, crucially, provides practical solutions that can be introduced directly into the manufacturing process. This investment will allow us to automate and scale our technology, grow our team and help more companies bring complex medicines to patients faster.”
Investor Views
Duncan Johnson, CEO of Northern Gritstone, said: “Silvia Bio is tackling a critical bottleneck in the development of next-generation medicines. Its technology combines deep scientific insight with a clear commercial proposition: helping manufacturers improve yields, reduce delays and make complex biologics more predictable to produce. Building on world-class research from the University of Sheffield and the support of our venture builder programme, NG Studios, Ed, Melinda and the team have made impressive progress, and we are delighted to support their next phase of growth.”
Moray Wright, CEO of Parkwalk, added: “Silvia Bio is exactly why we set up the Northern Universities Venture Fund. It’s deep science from the University of Sheffield, aimed at a manufacturing bottleneck that costs biopharma companies real money and real time. Ed, Melinda and the team have built a platform that gets to the root cause of the problem, and we’re pleased to be backing them alongside Northern Gritstone as they scale.”
What’s Next
The funding will support Silvia Bio’s move from the university into dedicated laboratory space at the Innovation Centre in Sheffield. The company plans to triple its headcount, automate processes currently done manually, increase commercial capacity and accelerate development of additional licensable products.
Silvia Bio has already validated its platform with industrial partners and plans to use the Seed funding to expand internationally.
