Sortera Bio Raises £7.5m Pre-Seed to Power AI Models for Drug Discovery
Cambridge, UK – 5th June 2025 – Sortera Bio Ltd (“Sortera Bio”), today announced the successful closure of its £7.5m pre-seed financing round in May 2024. The round was led by Cambridge Innovation Capital, with participation from AstraZeneca and BioNTech.
Sortera has strategically utilised this funding to establish its Deep Screening platform, which experimentally collects sequence and functional data on hundreds of millions of biologics. This capability enables the rapid identification of therapeutic candidates and the generation of machine learning datasets to fuel generative AI models.
The innovative technology powering Sortera was originally developed and validated at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (MRC LMB), with support from AstraZeneca through the LMB-AstraZeneca Blue Sky Collaboration. Sortera Bio was co-founded by Dr. Ben Porebski and Dr. Philipp Holliger, both leading experts in protein engineering and synthetic biology. Previously an Investigator Scientist at MRC LMB, Dr. Porebski serves as the company’s CEO and CTO. Dr. Holliger, a Programme Leader at MRC LMB, provides strategic oversight and expertise to the venture, serving on its Board of Directors.
“The past year has been transformative for Sortera Bio. Our pre-seed financing has established the business and catalysed development on the next generation of our Deep Screening technology, bringing us closer to our goal of delivering precision biologics that may improve patient outcomes. We are excited to be supported by our investors as we move forward with technology development and strategic partnerships.” said Ben Porebski, PhD, CEO-CTO.
“Sortera’s novel Deep Screening platform represents scientific research that has the potential to provide real benefit to the drug discovery process across a wide range of modalities. The founding of Sortera advances the translation of these benefits to a broad range of programmes dedicated to the development of novel medicines in areas of unmet medical need.” said Robert Tansley MD, Partner at Cambridge Innovation Capital.
“We are proud to have supported the foundational work behind Sortera’s technology. Their progress is a testament to the success of our Blue Sky Collaboration with AstraZeneca and the vibrant innovation ecosystem we foster.” said Jan Löwe PhD FRS, Director of the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.
As Sortera Bio continues its mission to advance biological drug discovery, the company welcomes collaboration and partnerships with researchers, pharmaceutical companies, and industry leaders who are committed to pushing the boundaries of therapeutic innovation.
ENDS
About Sortera Bio
Sortera Bio Ltd is a Cambridge UK-based biotechnology company based on intellectual property developed at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. Sortera is focused on accelerating the discovery of biologics via its proprietary Deep Screening platform and is dedicated to delivering transformative solutions in biologics discovery to meet the needs of patients worldwide.
Contact: hello@sortera.bio
https://sortera.bio
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About Cambridge Innovation Capital
Cambridge Innovation Capital (CIC) is a leading venture investor backing and building category leading deep tech and life sciences companies. . CIC currently manages in excess of £0.6 billion and has invested in around 40 companies. CIC is a preferred investor for the University of Cambridge, Europe’s top source of founders for venture-backed start-ups.
Cambridge Innovation Capital Manager Limited (FRN:918898) is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
For more information, please visit www.cic.vc or follow us on X at @CIC_vc and LinkedIn.