Northern Irish health and life sciences start-up LifeCellsNI has secured £590,000 in pre-seed investment to establish the region's first Human Tissue Authority-licensed stem cell storage and contingency biobank facility, according to Irish News.

The funding round for the Derry-based company was led by the AMP Angel Syndicate with support from Co-Fund III, managed by Clarendon Fund Managers.

The company is developing a fully regulated cryogenic storage and laboratory processing hub designed to operate under HTA governance frameworks. Cleanroom installation is now under way, with commissioning, validation and licensing milestones planned ahead of an operational launch in April.

Northern Ireland currently lacks locally regulated long-term storage infrastructure for stem cells and therapeutic tissues. As a result, patients, clinics and research organisations must ship biological material to mainland UK facilities, increasing regulatory complexity and cost.

Catherine King, founder and chief executive of LifeCellsNI, said: "The facility is designed, not only to serve families preserving cord blood, but also to support Health Trusts, universities and private life sciences companies requiring compliant storage and processing capability without investing in their own infrastructure."

She added: "Infrastructure determines participation. If a region lacks regulated biobanking capability, it limits its ability to engage fully in advanced therapy programmes and regenerative medicine research. We are building that missing piece."

The company operates with strict governance separation between patient and family-owned samples and research or commercial services, ensuring full consent, ownership protection and ethical compliance.

LifeCellsNI was incubated within the AMP Growth Incubator ecosystem and has received support from regional innovation bodies including Invest NI, Founder Labs Pre Accelerator, Health Innovation Research Alliance North Ireland and Derry City & Strabane District Council.

Discover how LifeCellsNI is addressing Northern Ireland's stem cell storage infrastructure gap in the complete article.