Company creation team continues spin-out growth and investment
Biotechnology and AI spearhead a consecutive year of £40M+ investment in companies commercialising research.
6 May 2025
Investments in Newcastle University spin-outs totalled £41.7m in 2024. It is the second year in succession that £40m+ has been raised by companies built on research discoveries. There are now 40 active Newcastle University spin-out companies, creating 370 jobs.
A £28.9M investment in e-Therapeutics underpins the 2024 success. The company specialises in drug discovery and development, leveraging computational power and biological data to create innovative RNA interference (RNAi) medicine.
Other significant investments in 2024 were:
- £5M for Literal Labs where the team is applying Tsetlin machine technology to AI
- £2M for Apix Nutrition, a company developing scientifically formulated honeybee superfood
- £1.6M for AMLo Biosciences to continue commercialisation of their skin cancer diagnostic tool
- £1.2M for Newcells Biotech who develop in vitro tissue models to support drug development
Micro-fluidics manufacturing spin-out, Microbritt also raised funds which have helped to secure an expansion of their operation to a new site in Cramlington, Northumberland.
Many of the spin-outs have also been beneficiaries of Northern Accelerator support. A collaboration of Newcastle, Durham, Northumbria, Sunderland, Teesside and York universities, the company creation scheme is a linchpin in North East research commercialisation.
UK spin-out landscape
The spin-out performance in 2024 emphasises the vital contribution Newcastle University makes to local and national economic growth by driving job creation and attracting investment.
A report from the Royal Academy of Engineering and Beauhurst shows steady growth in the number of UK spin-outs. Although 2024 saw fewer spin-out investment deals made, the level of investment grew to £2.6bn, up 38% on 2023.
Newcastle University’s Head of Company Creation, Rick McCordall said: “We’re delighted to have supported our spin-outs as they attracted more than £40M in investment for the second year running
“The investment success of 2023 and 2024 is testament to the robust but ambitious approach we take to spin-out creation.
“As more deals are made with spin-outs from the North East of England, more investor interest will follow. Some of the biggest investors in academic spin-outs are yet to explore the huge potential in the North East. But if we can keep the deal flow moving like it has for the last two years, I’m confident we’ll see more investors in the North East.”
Decreasing university equity to support investment
The Royal Academy of Engineering and Beauhurst report also shows that university equity stakes in spin-outs are at an all time low of 16.1%.
Lower university equity stakes have been identified as key to incentivising academic founders to launch and scale their spinout companies, and this change is part of broader progress that has been made against a number of areas identified for improvement in HM Treasury’s 2023 Independent Review of University Spin-out Companies.
Newcastle University was an early adopter of the spin-out review’s recommendations.
