Tech firm raises funds to speed up cancer testing – Daily Business

A technology company has secured a £750,000 seed investment that will help speed up the testing of cancer treatments.

ScreenIn3D, a spin-out from the University of Strathclyde, has developed the groundbreaking “lab-on-a-chip” system that allows drug developers to test dozens of cancer therapies on tiny patient-derived tumour samples.

It offers a faster, easier and more accurate alternative to animal testing.

The funding round was led by Tricapital Angels, alongside existing investors Gabriel Investments, Scottish Enterprise and the University of Strathclyde, as well as German investor Nidobirds Ventures, and private individuals.

Founded by academic engineer Prof Michele Zagnoni and life science tools’ veteran Alex Sim, ScreenIn3D’s technology dramatically increases the number of drug tests that can be carried out on extremely small – and therefore precious – samples of human tissue.

This offers drug developers vastly more data from early testing phases, helping them to identify effective new drugs earlier, reduce failures in clinical trials, and bring therapies to market faster.

Prof. Zagnoni, who is chief executive of ScreenIn3D, said: “This technology has the potential to transform how cancer drugs are developed.”

ScreenIn3D is already generating revenue, with both bio-pharma companies and cancer centres using the platform. The company will grow its headcount from five to eight as it scales its operations and deepens industry partnerships.

The investment deal follows a record-breaking year for Tricapital Angels, which completed 18 deals throughout 2024.

Its members subscribed more than £3.5 million of their own money into some of the country’s most innovative companies over the past 12 months.