North East based contract research organisation (CRO) Magnitude Biosciences helps its clients in the health & nutrition, biotech and pharmaceutical industries progress their research projects.

Using its patented technology, it reduces the need for animal testing, de-risks clinical trials, and helps prioritise successful clinical candidates.

The company sought finance after it had secured its first major client. This was a pivotal project for the business, and failure to deliver it would impact the company’s ability to grow further. When the pandemic first started, the company was leasing a lab within a university, which then became impracticable to use. The funding from the Future Fund allowed the company to sign a lease on a new industrial grade facility, and build vital equipment. Before obtaining finance, the company was limited to equipment at the university, but is now able to develop additional hardware to improve the data and services it provides.

Since receiving funding, the company has grown significantly, going from a team of five to 20 and plans to continue to scale up to a team of 50 in the next few years. The finance also supported the growth of the company to self-sufficiency, and it is now talking to some of the most exciting companies within pharma, health and nutrition.