Semarion has raised USD 3.8 million (£2.9 million GBP). The fundraise was led by Parkwalk, and joined by The FSE Group, Cambridge Enterprise Ventures, Oxford Innovation Finance, Found Capital, Cambridge Capital Group and Start Codon. The investment will facilitate commercial expansion and scale manufacturing of the company’s SemaCyte platform which enables adherent cell models to be handled as assay-ready, barcoded reagents for more flexible, data-rich, scalable drug discovery.

With a growing pipeline of opportunities and strong industry interest, Semarion is focused on broad-scale customer adoption, strengthening partnerships and preparing for its next phase of growth. The funding will be used to drive further commercialisation of the SemaCyte platform, enabling the company to increase manufacturing throughput and expand the field application support team.

Semarion’s technology has already been adopted by many pharmaceutical organisations, including top 10 pharma companies, across the US and Europe, with multiple pilot programmes progressing towards broader commercial rollout. The company has also established collaborations with global life science tools providers including Revvity, which has integrated compatibility for SemaCyte detection into its imaging and analysis platforms, and SPT Labtech, combining the microcarrier technology with SPT Labtech’s liquid handling platform to advance automated cell-based assay workflows.

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.”

This new funding is in addition to the company’s USD 2.89 million Seed round, which was raised in 2022.

Jeroen Verheyen, CEO and Co-Founder, Semarion, added, “This funding marks an important step as we scale to meet growing demand from the industry. Scientists are under increasing pressure to generate more cell-based data, improve automation and drive operational efficiency. SemaCytes enable them to do this within existing workflows and infrastructure, and we are now focused on translating that momentum into broader adoption.”