At a glance
Sansanima has closed a seed equity round to accelerate the rollout of human relevant, animal free testing for the manufacture of critical medicines and vaccine products. The round was supported by Sheffield Angels, o2h Ventures, and Cambridge Angels.
Founders and Focus
Co-founders Dr Ciara Doran and Professor Andrew Peden are advancing a platform of fully physiological, cell based assays designed to replace the use of animals in pharmaceutical safety and potency testing. Initial applications include clostridial biologics such as tetanus and botulinum products.
Investors and Thanks
Thank you to Andy Evans and Danny Evans, Sheffield Angels, Sunil Shah at o2h Ventures, and Cambridge Angels for their support. The investment combines capital with hands-on experience across company building, partnering, and scale up.
Why it matters
Global regulators, including the UK MHRA and US FDA, are increasingly supporting non-animal methods. Sansanima’s platform delivers specific, sensitive, and reproducible readouts that fit standard plate reader workflows and are built for method transfer in regulated environments.
What the funding enables
Progress platform validation and quality controls
Expand collaborations with vaccine and toxin manufacturers
Advance method transfer and partner pilots toward adoption
Selected remarks
Dr Andy Evans, Co-Chair, Sheffield Angels:
“We are thrilled to support Sansanima in their mission to modernise pharmaceutical safety testing. This investment reflects our commitment to backing outstanding local science with global relevance.”
Sunil Shah, CEO, o2h Ventures:
“We are very excited to back Sansanima along with Sheffield Angels. The team has shown the value of the technology with a clear path to early revenues and commercialisation.”
Dr Ciara Doran, CEO, Sansanima:
“We are delighted to welcome Sheffield Angels and o2h Ventures. Their support validates the scientific and ethical impact of our platform and strengthens our ability to bring humane, cutting edge testing solutions to global partners.”
About the investors
Sheffield Angels supports early stage science and technology ventures from the Sheffield region, fostering high quality deal flow and collaboration across the UK.
o2h Ventures invests in pre-seed and seed human health companies across therapeutics, tools and services, and software for healthcare.
Cambridge Angels is a leading UK angel group backing innovative growth companies.