Cell and gene therapy sector gains fresh backing as suppliers scale-up capacity

By Kevin Robinson | Published: 7-Sep-2026 Kevin Robinson
Cell & Gene Therapy

The UK's cell and gene therapy (CGT) supply chain has seen a flurry of activity this week, including a fresh funding round for a Cambridge reagents specialist, a new platform partnership in antibody discovery and expanded sequencing capacity from a genomics diagnostics provider.

You need to be a subscriber to read this article.
Click here to find out more.
Cell and gene therapy sector gains fresh backing as suppliers scale-up capacity

Cambridge-based Qkine has secured £1.6 million in follow-on investment from CPI Enterprises, EverQuest Capital Partners, Parkwalk Advisors and EMV Capital.

The round builds on CPI Enterprises' initial backing of the company in 2022. It will support Qkine's continued expansion of its animal-origin-free growth factors, cytokines and proteins used in stem cell research and advanced cell therapy manufacturing.

The company, which now offers more than 100 products, plans to use the funding to strengthen its leadership team, grow its US presence, scale GMP-grade manufacturing and expand its research and development activity. 

Not yet a Subscriber?

This is a small extract of the full article which is available ONLY to premium content subscribers. Click below to get premium content on Manufacturing Chemist.

Subscribe now Already a subscriber? Sign in here.
  • Companies:
  • CPI UK Ltd
  • Enpicom
See more

You may also like

Research & Development
UK Intracellular Drug Delivery Centre opens doors for broader industry access

UK Intracellular Drug Delivery Centre opens doors for broader industry access

Read more
Following on from a capability development phase, the CPI-led centre is now open to the broader industry, creating a new national route for companies developing next-generation RNA therapies to generate data for clinical and commercial application

Trending Articles

  1. Novartis and BMS slam breaks on gene therapy trials after adverse events Three patients have reportedly died in Novartis' experimental trials of its CAR-T therapy for autoimmune conditions, causing the pharma giant to halt eight of its clinical trials, with BMS pausing enrollment for its own CAR-T treatment for similar issues
  2. NewBiologix and Synastra Biotechnology partner for stable rAAV manufacturing in DMD gene therapy The pair will use NewBiologix's Xcell platform to establish a stable producer cell line to scale manufacturing for Synastra’s investigational DMD gene therapy programme
  3. Northway Biotech opens €61m cell therapy CDMO in Lithuania The new 3500 sq m Vilnius facility will provide up to 20 independent cGMP manufacturing lines for cell therapies and personalised medicines
  4. Waterfall Scientific heads $54.5m ARPA-H consortium to build continuous-flow mRNA manufacturing platform The ESCALATOR project integrates enzymatic DNA synthesis, LNP formulation, microfluidics and automated analytics into an end-to-end system — aiming to reduce production lead time from weeks to days for personalised oncology and pandemic response
  5. Andelyn Biosciences partners with Queen's University Belfast for GM2 Gangliosides candidate The CGT company will use its Curator Platform to advance AAV9-GM2 towards patient dosing through a multiphase programme, supporting the University in bringing the potentially "life-changing therapy" to patients

Upcoming event

CPhI Milan

6–8 October 2026 | Exhibition | Fiera Milano, Italy See all

You may also like

Research & Development
UK Intracellular Drug Delivery Centre opens doors for broader industry access

UK Intracellular Drug Delivery Centre opens doors for broader industry access

Following on from a capability development phase, the CPI-led centre is now open to the broader industry, creating a new national route for companies developing next-generation RNA therapies to generate data for clinical and commercial application
Manufacturing
Why the UK needs to do more to prepare for the “RNA boom”

Why the UK needs to do more to prepare for the “RNA boom”

The UK was a world leader in RNA production during COVID … but the CPI warns that the country needs to do more to maintain this status moving forward
Cell & Gene Therapy
Touchlight awarded tender to supply enzymatic dbDNA to CPI

Touchlight awarded tender to supply enzymatic dbDNA to CPI

CPI has selected Touchlight to supply research and GMP-grade enzymatic DNA for the development and manufacturing of RNA therapeutics and vaccines
Cell & Gene Therapy
Northway Biotech opens €61m cell therapy CDMO in Lithuania

Northway Biotech opens €61m cell therapy CDMO in Lithuania

The new 3500 sq m Vilnius facility will provide up to 20 independent cGMP manufacturing lines for cell therapies and personalised medicines
Manufacturing
Waterfall Scientific heads $54.5m ARPA-H consortium to build continuous-flow mRNA manufacturing platform

Waterfall Scientific heads $54.5m ARPA-H consortium to build continuous-flow mRNA manufacturing platform

The ESCALATOR project integrates enzymatic DNA synthesis, LNP formulation, microfluidics and automated analytics into an end-to-end system — aiming to reduce production lead time from weeks to days for personalised oncology and pandemic response
Manufacturing
NewBiologix and Synastra Biotechnology partner for stable rAAV manufacturing in DMD gene therapy

NewBiologix and Synastra Biotechnology partner for stable rAAV manufacturing in DMD gene therapy

The pair will use NewBiologix's Xcell platform to establish a stable producer cell line to scale manufacturing for Synastra’s investigational DMD gene therapy programme
Research & Development
Novartis and BMS slam breaks on gene therapy trials after adverse events

Novartis and BMS slam breaks on gene therapy trials after adverse events

Three patients have reportedly died in Novartis' experimental trials of its CAR-T therapy for autoimmune conditions, causing the pharma giant to halt eight of its clinical trials, with BMS pausing enrollment for its own CAR-T treatment for similar issues
Subscribe now