Abselion

Abselion is a Cambridge-based life sciences technology company founded in 2018 — originally as HexagonFab — as a spinout from the University of Cambridge, created to solve a persistent and costly bottleneck in biopharmaceutical development: the inability to get rapid, reliable protein data at the point of need. In bioprocess development, scientists developing antibodies, viral vectors (AAVs), and other biologics need frequent, accurate measurements of protein concentration to make sound decisions. Traditional methods — ELISA, analytical HPLC, and similar techniques — require sending samples to centralised analytical labs and waiting days for results, slowing down development cycles and increasing the risk of poor decisions made on stale data.

Abselion's flagship Amperia system, built on its proprietary Redox Electrochemical Detection (RED) technology, brings protein quantification directly to the bench or bioreactor, enabling scientists to obtain gold-standard results in as little as one minute from crude, unprocessed samples. The platform is designed to integrate seamlessly into existing workflows and works across a range of biologics including antibodies and AAVs used in gene therapy. Its modular architecture supports multiple assay formats, and the system has been validated at scale including at NHS Blood and Transplant's Clinical Biotechnology Centre for gene therapy development.

Abselion has raised a total of £10.5 million in funding across multiple rounds, including a £6.6 million Series A in December 2024 led by M Ventures (the strategic VC arm of Merck), with co-investors BioProcess 360 Partners, Untitled Ventures, BGF, and R42. The company has established a US subsidiary at MIT's The Engine in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is expanding its commercial presence across the global biopharma market. It is backed by Innovate UK and the National Research Council of Canada, and is actively scaling its team and automated manufacturing capabilities.