About Epistem
Epistem is a Healthcare company based in Manchester (United Kingdom) founded in 2000, and was acquired by Foresight Group in June 2018. It operates as a stem cell-based therapeutics, biomarkers, and contract research services are provided. Epistem has raised $5.22 million across 8 funding rounds from investors including Gov.uk, Calculus Capital and U.S. Department of Defense. The company has 35 employees. Epistem offers products and services including Research Models, Next Generation Sequencing, and Histology and Immunohistochemistry. Its focus areas include Life Sciences, Genomics, Genomics Research and Biomarker Discovery. Its legal entity is EPISTEM LIMITED. Its competitors include GSK, Metabolon, Avidity Biosciences, Sutro Biopharma and Maze Therapeutics and 5 more; 9 of its 10 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
The company was founded in 2000 in Manchester, United Kingdom, within the biotechnology sector. Focus is placed on adult stem cells in epithelial tissues, including the gastrointestinal tract, skin, hair follicles, breast, and prostate. Operations are structured across three divisions: Contract Research Services for drug development support, Novel Therapies for innovative treatments, and Personalised Medicine encompassing biomarkers and diagnostics such as Genedrive. Next-generation molecular biology techniques are utilized throughout.
- Headquarters Manchester, United Kingdom
- Employees 35
- Stage Acquired
- SectorsHealthcare
- Website epistem.co.uk
- Social LinkedIn X YouTube
- Acquired by Foresight Group (Jun 2018)
- Legal Name Epistem Limited
- Date of Incorporation 25 Oct, 2017
- Jurisdiction MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM
- Total Equity Funding$5.22M (USD)
in 8 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$38.05K (USD), Grant
Sep 2020
- InvestorsGov.uk
& 4 more
- Employee Count35
- Acquired byForesight Group
(Jun 2018)
Products & Services of Epistem
Epistem offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Research Models, Next Generation Sequencing, and Histology and Immunohistochemistry.
Models for oncology and inflammatory disease studies
Services for DNA analysis in drug development
Techniques for tissue analysis in research
Funding Insights of Epistem
Epistem has successfully raised a total of $5.22M across 8 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Grant round of $38.05 thousand completed in September 2020. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $5.22M
- Total Rounds 8
- Last Round Grant β $38,048
- First Round $3.04M
(Oct 2005)
- Investors Count 4
All 8 funding rounds of Epistem with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2020 | $38,048 | Grant | β | β | |
| Jul 2016 | $9.54M | Post-IPO | β | β | |
| Mar 2016 | $2.9M | Grant | β | β | |
| Nov 2015 | – | Grant | β | β | |
| Aug 2015 | $2.4M | Grant | β | β | |
| Aug 2013 | $2M | Grant | β | β | β |
| Nov 2007 | $2.19M | Series A | β | β | β |
| Oct 2005 | $3.04M | Series A | β | β |
5 investors in total: 5 institutional.
Investors in Epistem
Epistem has secured backing from 5 investors, including institutional and venture fund investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Gov.uk, Calculus Capital and U.S. Department of Defense.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
UK venture capital investments are managed by Calculus Capital. | 1999 | calculuscapital.com | London, United Kingdom | |
Online government services and information are provided to users. | 1707 | gov.uk | London, United Kingdom | |
Military forces are provided by the U.S. Department of Defense for national security. | – | defense.gov | Washington, D.C., United States | |
Zeus is engaged in investment banking and financial advisory services. | – | zeuscapital.co.uk | Manchester, United Kingdom | |
Foresight Group is engaged in sustainable investment management. | 1984 | foresightgroup.eu | - |
Investor details for Epistem
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Epistem
8 people are tracked at Epistem (4 in leadership, 1 in board & advisors, 3 in team); the tracked headcount is 35.
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
James Fullerton-Batten | CFO | Leadership |
Cath Booth | CEO | Leadership |
Julie Tudor | Operations Director | Leadership |
Andrew Edwards | Commercial Director | Leadership |
Nick Ash | Non-Executive Chairman | Board & advisors |
Aude-Marine Bonavita | Senior Business Development Manager | Team |
Juan B Menendez Gonzalez | Business Development Manager | Team |
Oliver Hill | Account Development Manager, Inside Sales & Marketing Assistant | Team |
Complete people profiles for Epistem
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
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Timeline of Epistem
4 dated milestones of Epistem across 20 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Epistem is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $3.0M.
- Exit Acquired by Foresight Group.
- Funding Latest funding round, Grant, of $38K.
Competitors of Epistem
Epistem has 10 listed competitors in our database, 9 of them funded. They include GSK, Metabolon, Avidity Biosciences, Sutro Biopharma and Maze Therapeutics, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gsk.com | 1715 | Brentford, United Kingdom | – | 90,913 | Developer of pharmaceuticals and vaccines for various therapeutic areas | |
| metabolon.com | 2000 | Morrisville, United States | $165.87M | 189 | Solutions for biomarker discovery and diagnostic testing are provided. | |
| aviditybiosciences.com | 2012 | San Diego, United States | $142.54M | 253 | Antibody-siRNA complexes are developed for cancer treatment. | |
| sutrobio.com | 2003 | United States | $171.85M | 235 | Antibody-based therapeutics for cancer therapy are developed via cell-free synthesis. | |
| mazetx.com | 2018 | Redwood, United States | $496M | 111 | Genetic biomarkers are developed for neurological, metabolic, and renal diseases. | |
| antheia.bio | 2013 | Palo Alto, United States | $152.37M | 50 | Yeast cells are genetically engineered to produce medicinal products. | |
| vividion.com | 2016 | Oceanside, United States | $270.5M | 123 | Developing novel drugs based on a proteome-wide ligand and target discovery platform | |
| synthego.com | 2012 | Redwood, United States | $459.75M | – | CRISPR-engineered cell and gene therapies are developed for research applications. | |
| korrobio.com | 2018 | Cambridge, United States | $4M | 77 | RNA-editing technologies are provided for precision medicine applications. | |
| univercells.com | 2013 | Charleroi, Belgium | $150.64M | 87 | Biomanufacturing technologies are supplied for biopharma antibody and vaccine production. |
Detailed competitors of Epistem
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of Epistem
The website of Epistem (epistem.co.uk) receives about 2.6K visits a month.
- Monthly visits2.6K
▲ 57.8% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Epistem. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| viacellinc.com | 100% | – | – | View details |
Top companies in Genomics & Gene Therapy Platforms
10 companies that operate in the same segment as Epistem (Genomics & Gene Therapy Platforms), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
mRNA-based therapeutics for diseases including cancer and infections are developed. | 2010 | Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States | USD 2.78 B | USD 1.94 B | 5,800 | |
Digital sequencing technology for cancer detection is developed. | 2012 | Redwood City, California, United States | USD 557.5 M | USD 982.02 M | 4,867 | |
Circulating tumor DNA is screened for early cancer detection. | 2016 | Menlo Park, California, United States | USD 2 B | USD 147.17 M | 1,141 | |
Nanopore-based electronic systems for single-molecule analysis are developed. | 2005 | Oxford, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom | USD 1.34 B | USD 301.49 M | 1,372 | |
Provider of genetic test solutions to study ancestry, genealogy, and inherited traits | 2006 | Sunnyvale, California, United States | USD 943.53 M | USD 189.9 M | 562 | |
Provider of DNA testing services to create a family tree and ancestor | 2003 | Yehud, Central District, Israel | USD 40 M | – | – | |
Genetically modified cell lines are developed using AAV gene-editing platform. | 2007 | Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom | USD 46.29 M | – | – | |
Gene therapies for rare diseases including retinal dystrophies are developed. | 2013 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States | USD 82.8 M | USD 64.73 M | 822 | |
Therapeutics for genetic diseases are developed through targeted interventions. | 2015 | Palo Alto, California, United States | USD 434.2 M | USD 502.08 M | 730 | |
Provider of an online genealogy platform offering a host of services | 1996 | Lehi, Utah, United States | USD 146.2 M | – | – |
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Related news about Epistem
Complete news archive for Epistem
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Frequently Asked Questions about Epistem
Epistem was founded in 2000 and raised its 1st funding round 5 years after it was founded.
Epistem is headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is registered at Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.
Epistem is a funded company, having raised a total of $5.22M across 8 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Series A of $3.04M, raised on Oct 2005.
Epistem has 35 employees.
The company was founded in 2000 in Manchester, United Kingdom, within the biotechnology sector. Focus is placed on adult stem cells in epithelial tissues, including the gastrointestinal tract, skin, hair follicles, breast, and prostate. Operations are structured across three divisions: Contract Research Services for drug development support, Novel Therapies for innovative treatments, and Personalised Medicine encompassing biomarkers and diagnostics such as Genedrive. Next-generation molecular biology techniques are utilized throughout.
Epistem's top competitors include Sutro Biopharma, Synthego and Avidity Biosciences.
Epistem offers Research Models, Next Generation Sequencing, and Histology and Immunohistochemistry.
Epistem has 5 investors. Key investors include Gov.uk, Calculus Capital, U.S. Department of Defense, Zeus, and Foresight Group.
Epistem operates through Epistem Limited.
Yes. Epistem was acquired by Foresight Group in June 2018.

