A pioneering biotechnology firm from Newcastle has secured a major £2 million investment to accelerate its groundbreaking work in early disease detection.
InvenireX, a company born from Dr Dan Todd's PhD research at Newcastle University, will use the funding to grow its team and expand its operations, bringing its revolutionary technology closer to market.
Revolutionising Molecular Detection
The investment was led by DSW Ventures, with participation from XTX Ventures, Cambridge Technology Capital, and several angel investors. This was supplemented by grant funding from Innovate UK.
InvenireX aims to overcome significant limitations in the science of molecular detection. Its innovative platform uses programmable DNA nanostructures to capture specific genetic markers inside custom microfluidic chips. Artificial intelligence is then employed to detect disease markers at concentrations that existing methods cannot capture.
In pilot testing, the company has already demonstrated greater sensitivity than current methods, while simultaneously reducing both the time and cost required for tests.
The 'Ultimate Needle-in-a-Haystack Detector'
Dr Dan Todd, the founder, explained the transformative potential of the technology. "Our machine could pick up cancer, HIV or sepsis earlier - any disease with a nucleic acid trace," he said.
"We're made of DNA - that's the source code. If you can pick up traces of faults and errors in that code, you can detect problems across the board before symptoms appear. We've built the ultimate needle-in-a-haystack detector, a tool that we can put in the hands of scientists to enable the discoveries of tomorrow."
The technology has garnered significant support from industry leaders. Jonathan O'Halloran, founder of Newcastle biotech firm QuantuMDx, has become an angel investor. He compared the significance of InvenireX's technology to major historical breakthroughs in genetics.
Commercial Traction and Future Growth
The company is already making significant commercial progress. InvenireX has completed a successful pilot with a diagnostics company that has committed to purchasing its first instrument. Further pilot programmes are currently underway in the fields of vaccine manufacturing and infectious disease diagnostics.
Doug Quinn, a partner at DSW Ventures, which first invested in early 2024, commented on the firm's continued support. "We've already seen the incredible work its technology can do. Now, to help build out the team and validate the commercial opportunity, we're thrilled to be continuing our partnership... leading another investment round to bring this vital technology one step closer to market."
Dr Wei Chen, Head of Investment at Cambridge Technology Capital, praised the InvenireX team's entrepreneurial spirit and the potential of their "fast, amplification-free, single-molecule detection" platform. He confirmed their commitment to helping the company "pilot and scale up" towards regulated diagnostics.
The new funding will directly support team growth and the expansion of these crucial pilot programmes, positioning this Newcastle-born innovation for a global impact on healthcare.
