Magnitude Biosciences secures £1.3m investment to scale pioneering in vivo drug discovery platform

Funding will support the commercialisation of the company’s VivoScan^TM platform, enabling rapid in vivo screening of millions of compounds

Sedgefield, UK, 15^th September 2026 / Magnitude Biosciences, a specialist contract research organisation (CRO) and Durham University spinout, has secured £1.3 millionin funding to accelerate the commercialisation of VivoScan^TM, its proprietary in vivo high-throughput screening (HTS) platform.

VivoScan^TM is unique in providing HTS for drug discovery in a whole organism. Unlike conventional HTS, which typically measures a limited number of molecular or cellular endpoints, VivoScan™ captures rich biological responses across a living organism.

The VivoScan^TM platform uses hundreds of nematode worms, C. elegans, as a biological model to evaluate potential therapies. By combining worms with advanced imaging, machine learning, agentic AI, automation and robotics, Magnitude Biosciences can generate highly detailed whole-organism data in weeks rather than years. This approach offers a faster and more predictive alternative to traditional drug testing models, while supporting the growing shift towards non-mammalian research models.

Magnitude’s solution has genuine potential to play an important role in transforming how new drug therapies are discovered and developed. In areas such as ageing and neurodegenerative disease, traditional models have often struggled to deliver meaningful results. By enabling researchers to screen thousands of compounds rapidly while producing detailed biological insights from a whole-organism system, the company is helping to bridge the gap between laboratory research and clinical development. This could accelerate the development of new drugs designed to extend the healthspan of our ageing population.

Dr Fozia Saleem, CEO, Magnitude Biosciences, says: “Our ambition is to become the first company to provide a platform to screen millions of compounds in a whole organism. This investment in VivoScan™ gives us the opportunity to turn that ambition into reality and fundamentally change the scale and speed at which drug discovery can be done.

“We are building a platform that can move beyond simply screening more compounds. VivoScan™ generates rich, whole organism biological data that can help researchers understand how potential therapies affect health, ageing and disease. By making data generation faster and more cost effective, we will be able to help pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies identify better drug candidates earlier and ultimately accelerate the development of new treatments.”

Northstar Ventures led the round through the North East Spinout Inspire Fund, the North East Innovation Fund and the Northstar EIS Growth Fund, alongside investment from Maven’s regional funds and new angel investors, with the funding also unlocking a further £217,000 Innovate UK Investor Partnership grant.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Sciad Communications, Media Relations

Jasmin Shearan

E: pressteam@sciad.com

T: +44 (0)20 34057892

Magnitude Biosciences

Dr Fozia Saleem

E: fozia@magnitudebiosciences.com

M: 07737860882

Northstar Ventures Limited

Deborah Nixon Carr
Marketing Lead

E: deborah@northstarventures.co.uk

M: 07754 800 749

Emma O’Rourke
Finance Director
E: emma@northstarventures.co.uk

M: 07715 366 434

Notes for Editors

About Magnitude Biosciences

Magnitude Biosciences is a contract research organisation (CRO) based in Sedgefield, UK, specialising in in vivo drug discovery using C.elegans. Its patented WormGazer^® technology and VivoScan^TM platform provides rapid, high-quality data on compound efficacy, toxicity, and mechanism of action – helping biotech and pharma companies make better decisions, faster. With over 120 projects delivered, Magnitude is trusted by clients in drug discovery, health and nutrition, and ageing biology.

For more information, visit: www.magnitudebiosciences.com.

About Northstar Ventures

Northstar Ventures is a long-established venture capital fund manager based in the North East of England. As the region’s leading early-stage investor, it has provided over £150m of funding to start-ups and early-stage high-growth, scalable businesses across a diverse range of sectors including deep tech, life sciences, advanced engineering and software.

Northstar Ventures’ investment managers have a wealth of expertise in supporting new and growing businesses, with a team experienced in finance, investments, startups, and global businesses.

Northstar Ventures Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. For more information, see www.northstarventures.co.uk.

About the North East Spinout Inspire Fund

The £22.5m North East Spinout Inspire Fund is backed by the universities of Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria, Sunderland and Teesside, as well as The North East Combined Authority (via the North East Fund). It has been set up to commercialise the research and innovation emerging from the North East’s five universities.

The Fund is part of the North East MSA £100m regional investment framework administered by The North East Fund. Along with both the North East Accelerate and North East Elevate funds, it aims to strengthen access to early-stage finance for start up, scale up and growing companies in North East England, and tackle long-standing market failures that have hampered innovation-led growth in the region.

About the North East Innovation Fund

The North East Innovation Fund was established in 2018 as part of The North East Fund’s suite of five venture capital and loan funds, which was supported with £77m of funding from the North East of England European Regional Development Fund programme, £60m from the European Investment Bank and with returns on previous North East-based, publicly supported investment funds. It also received £4.76m from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Between 2018 and 2025, the North East Innovation Fund invested almost £50m in 137 companies across the region. It is now focused on helping its portfolio companies to progress and to realise value and is no longer making new investments but can access some additional funding for portfolio companies from the programme launched by North East Fund in November 2025 with the funding provided by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority led by North East Mayor Kim McGuinness.

About the Northstar EIS Growth Fund

The Northstar EIS Growth Fund is a tax-efficient fund that offers investors the opportunity to invest in innovative businesses with high-growth potential. The fund provides growth capital for scale-up businesses with good commercial traction and proven demand, and which are rapidly establishing their position in the market.