Newcastle University biotech spin-out Atelerix has raised £750,000, bringing the year’s total funding to £1.25 million.
The startup is transforming how biosamples essential for drug discovery and pharmaceutical research are stored and transported.
Preserving the integrity of biological samples like cells, tissues, viruses, and blood products during transport between multiple sites is a challenge in healthcare.
Reliable drug discovery, accurate diagnoses and efficient clinical trials depend on reliable sample preservation. However, the widely used traditional cryopreservation method can reduce cell viability by up to 50 per cent post-thaw while also requiring costly and specialised equipment. Further, complex cell-based models, tissues and blood-products cannot be frozen at all, resulting in a tight, inflexible, high-wastage supply chain for fresh products.
Atelerix’s patented hypothermic preservation technology minimises the complexities and disadvantages of cryogenic shipping whilst extending the shelf life of fresh products.
It allows for the storage and transport of cells between 4-25 degrees, addressing post-thaw challenges head-on. The solution enables cells to maintain over 90 per cent viability for 14 days at room temperature, reducing costs by 50-80 per cent per shipment. It also uses standard packaging compared to the specialised cryogenic shipping containers and hazardous dry ice.
By simplifying logistics, reducing costs and maintaining cell viability, Atelerix’s ambient temperature shipping technology offers a solution to bottleneck issues in drug and cell therapy development, ensuring scientists can focus on advancing ground-breaking therapies and improving patient outcomes.
Further, Atelerix’s technology eliminates the need for energy-intensive freezers, dry ice and harmful refrigerants, reducing CO2 emissions by 99.7 per cent in a single shipment.
Alastair Carrington, CEO of Atelerix, says,
“Atelerix is transforming biological transport by eliminating the need for deep freezing, setting a sharp new standard that displaces traditional cryologistics.
Through innovative partnerships with leading life science companies and strong customer validation, we are redefining how laboratories operate worldwide.”
ACF Investors and biotech specialist investors o2h Ventures invested in the round.
According to Sam Fennell, Partner at ACF Investors, Atelerix’s disruptive platform technology, strong IP and rapidly expanding customer base puts the company in a strong position to capitalise on increasing demand for sustainable logistics solutions.
“We’re excited to back a team that is going to genuinely transform a legacy industry, and we’re ready to support them in the next phase of its growth.”
Sunil Shah, CEO at o2h Ventures, first saw the company pitch at Cambridge Angels and asked sister company o2h Discovery to evaluate the gel on some real cells.
Specifically, he asked one of their UK biologists to test Atelerix’s gel by applying it to cells and shipping them to India. Due to a 5-day customs delay in Mumbai, the shipment faced an unintended ‘stress test,’ extending the usual 2-3 day timeline to 10-12 days.
Despite this, 40 per cent of the cells survived — impressive compared to the normal dry ice survival rate of 60 per cent in perfect conditions, which would have been 0 per cent in this test.
“The cells were successfully regrown in India and are now thriving in experiments. With ideal shipping conditions, viability could be even higher.
This is not the most scientific of tests, but still indicative that the tech works really well. In terms of cost savings, to ship cells normally on dry ice costs ~$2,500, while this would cost us approx ~$200. A huge saving and enough for me to get excited to lead the investment in this round and join the Board!”
The investment will drive the company's branding and sales efforts and drive widespread adoption of its technology, positioning Atelerix's range of hydrogels as the preferred shipping method for biosamples.
Lead Image: Atelerix.
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