Cellular Origins, an automated cell- and gene-therapy (CGT) manufacturing technology business based in the UK, is looking to raise USD 40m by the end of 2Q25 to accelerate its commercial scale-up, CEO Edwin Stone told Mergermarket.

Talks with some investors are taking place, Stone said. The company, which was spun out from technology and product-development firm TTP in 2022, was in stealth mode until 2023, but started to engage with investors at the end of 2024 and attended the JP Morgan Health Care Conference earlier this month, he said.

Assisted by M&A advisor EC M&A, Cellular Origins is targeting financial investors as well as strategic players in the life sciences, deep tech and robotics to raise the funds, he said. It looks for investors globally, he added.

The stake that TTP will retain in Cellular Origins has yet to be decided, he said, but did not provide information on its valuation or how much investment it has received so far.

The new capital will be used to scale the business, accelerating its go-to-market strategy, he said, adding that its technology, which enables the scalable, cost-effective and efficient manufacture of CGTs, has been developed for about ten years, and its first solution was launched in 2021.

The company plans to accelerate delivery to ten identified customers, accelerate partnership development, invest in sales and marketing, and build out its operational team and facilities, according to a company presentation.

It plans to double its current team of 70 within 18 months, adding developers, marketing and service support staff, Stone added.

In 1Q24, its first quarter of trading, Cellular Origins generated around USD 1.5m of revenue, and has “accelerated very significantly from there”, Stone said. In terms of profitability, he added, “We have been very financially disciplined, and our business plan continues to build significant revenues and profits in a highly capital efficient manner.”

The company develops automated robotic manufacturing platforms for the industrialised and digitised manufacture of cell and gene therapies. Constellation, its cell therapy manufacturing platform, enables high-volume cell therapy manufacturing. Cellular Origins focuses on late stage clinical and commercial-stage cell and gene therapies, according to the presentation.

Target customers are pharmaceutical companies and contract development and manufacturing organisations (CDMOs), Stone said.

Partnerships are a key part of Cellular Origin’s go-to-market moves, Stone said. Earlier this month, the company announced a partnership with life-science firm Cytiva to enable manufacturing of cell and gene therapies on an industrial scale to treat more patients.

Based outside Cambridge, UK, TTP was established in 1987 to support the development of new technologies and products. It has created more than 20 new businesses, some of which have been sold, merged with other companies or listed.

Among TTP’s businesses are TAP Biosystems, which specialises in small scale, multi-parallel fermentation systems and was sold to Sartorius [EPA:DIM] in 2013; and SPT Labtech, a specialist in automated instrumentation and consumables for life science research, which was sold to Battery Ventures in 2018 and then to EQT in 2022 in a GBP 650m deal.