Adherent cell assays have lagged behind in automation, slowing drug discovery. Semarion’s SemaCyte® microcarrier platform streamlines these workflows by making adherent cells assay-ready, improving scalability and efficiency. CEO Jeroen Verheyen shares the inspiration behind this technology and its impact on high-throughput screening and AI-driven drug discovery.
Can you introduce Semarion and explain what inspired the development of your SemaCyte® technology?
Semarion is an advanced materials company spun out of the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge. Our mission is to revolutionize drug discovery by removing bottlenecks in adherent cell assays—something that hasn’t fundamentally changed in decades.
The inspiration for our technology came from a simple yet persistent challenge. While automation and miniaturization have transformed single-cell and suspension-cell workflows, adherent cells still rely on slow, manual processes. Researchers must grow cells in flasks, plate them in multiwell plates, wait for attachment, and only then begin assays. This process is time-consuming, resource-intensive, and difficult to scale—especially when working with transiently transfected cells, iPSC-derived models, or primary patient samples.
Our solution is the SemaCyte® microcarrier platform, which turns adherent cells into barcoded, assay-ready reagents that can be frozen, stored, and dispensed into microplates as needed. By pre-attaching cells to ultra-miniaturized microcarriers, we eliminate the wait for attachment, accelerate assay setup, and unlock cells multiplexed inside microwells—all without requiring new equipment.
Traditional cell screening methods often face challenges in scalability and efficiency. How does your SemaCyte® microcarrier platform address these limitations?
Traditional adherent cell workflows are inherently slow and difficult to scale. Even with automation, the process of plating, attaching, and culturing cells creates delays and limits throughput. Our SemaCyte platform addresses these limitations by fundamentally rethinking how adherent cells are handled.
Researchers capture and culture them on ultra-miniaturized petri dishes—our SemaCyte microcarriers, which are just 140 x 140 microns in size. Each microcarrier acts as a self-contained environment, supporting cell growth and maintaining morphology. Once prepared, SemaCytes can be frozen and stored, ready to be dispensed into microplates at any time.
Another key advantage is scalability. Because SemaCytes can be handled like suspension cells, they are compatible with liquid handling systems and robotics, enabling fully automated workflows. This makes it easier to scale up assays, screen larger compound libraries, and integrate with high-throughput screening (HTS) platforms.
One of the key advantages of SemaCyte® technology is its ability to enhance early-stage drug discovery. Can you elaborate on how this innovation improves workflows for pharmaceutical and biotech companies?
Early-stage drug discovery is all about speed, efficiency, and data quality. Researchers need to quickly test large numbers of compounds while ensuring their results are reliable and reproducible. SemaCytes directly addresses these needs by enabling faster, more flexible workflows and higher-throughput data generation.
Image Credit: emiridikut/Shutterstock.com
With SemaCytes, you can prepare large batches of cells in advance, freeze them, and store them until needed. When it’s time to run an assay, simply thaw the SemaCytes, dispense them into a microplate, and begin testing—no waiting for attachment, no variability from day-to-day cell culture. This not only accelerates assay setup but also ensures that each experiment starts with consistent, high-quality cells, improving reproducibility and data reliability.
This approach is particularly valuable for high-content imaging, which is essential for capturing rich, phenotypic data at scale. Our optical barcodes enable researchers to multiplex multiple cell models within the same well, increasing data density and reducing variability. This supports diverse drug modalities and enables applications such as CRISPR screening, DNA damage response assays, and antibody binding studies. By pooling immortalized, engineered, or patient-derived cells, researchers gain more biologically relevant insights while accelerating workflows.
High-throughput screening and single-cell analysis are critical in modern drug development. How does Semarion’s approach differ from existing techniques in these areas?
High-throughput screening (HTS) and single-cell analysis have advanced significantly, especially for suspension cells. However, adherent cells have been left behind due to the limitations of multiwell plates. Our approach changes that by making adherent cells as easy to handle as suspension cells, unlocking the full potential of automation and miniaturization.
SemaCytes are designed to integrate seamlessly into existing microplate-based workflows. Researchers simply dispense the microcarriers into standard 384- or 1,536-well plates using liquid handling systems. Since the cells are already attached, assays can begin immediately, eliminating the wait for cell attachment and reducing setup time from days to hours
Multiplexing is a game-changer here. With SemaCytes, researchers can pool up to 10 different cell models in the same well and track each one using its unique optical barcode. This not only increases throughput by a factor of 10 but also reduces costs by up to 6-fold since fewer plates and reagents are needed.
The impact of large-scale compound screening is significant. For example, screening 100,000 compounds against 10 different cell models in triplicate would typically require around 8,000 384-well plates. With SemaCytes, that number drops to 800 plates, representing a tenfold reduction in cost, time, and resources.
As AI and automation continue to shape the life sciences sector, how do you see SemaCyte® technology integrating with these advancements?
AI and automation are transforming drug discovery, but their success depends on one crucial factor: high-quality, high-throughput data. SemaCytes play a key role in this ecosystem by enabling faster, more efficient data generation using automation-friendly workflows.
We are actively collaborating with partners in the AI space, including groups at UCL exploring the concept of self-driving labs—where AI algorithms autonomously design and execute experiments using automated systems. SemaCytes are ideal for this setup because they eliminate the manual steps traditionally required for adherent cell assays, making the entire workflow faster, more reliable, and easier to automate.
We are also working with techbio companies which are building AI-driven drug discovery platforms that rely on large datasets. By enabling faster, more cost-effective data generation, SemaCytes help these companies train their AI models more efficiently and validate predictions more quickly.
Collaboration is often key to innovation. Have there been any notable partnerships or research collaborations that have helped advance Semarion’s technology?
We have partnered with Revvity to integrate SemaCyte analysis and barcode deconvolution into their high-content imaging platforms—the Opera Phenix, Operetta CLS, and Signals Image Artist software suite—enabling seamless analysis of multiplexed cell models within standard imaging workflows. With Merck KGaA, we are exploring the possibility of offering Merck cell lines pre-attached to SemaCyte microcarriers, streamlining assay setup and enhancing efficiency for their customers.
Closer to home, our collaborations with o2h discovery and the Milner Therapeutics Institute have demonstrated SemaCytes' effectiveness in DNA damage response assays and arrayed CRISPR screening, providing new insights into cell behavior and therapeutic responses.
Looking ahead, what are Semarion’s next steps in terms of product development and market expansion?
Our primary focus for 2025 is to expand the adoption of the SemaCyte platform beyond the UK, with a particular emphasis on the EU and US markets. We are working to deepen our relationships with pharmaceutical companies and CROs, helping them integrate SemaCytes into their workflows.
On the product development side, we are working with EMBL to validate flow compatible SemaCytes to unlock the imaging and sorting of fully adherent cells in flow cytometry systems, addressing a long-standing industry challenge. Additionally, we are collaborating with other organizations to explore novel applications such as cell multiplexing for optical pooled screening and cell therapy screening, expanding the range of assays that can benefit from our platform’s capabilities.
To support this growth, we are scaling up our manufacturing capabilities to meet increasing demand, ensuring a reliable supply of SemaCyte microcarriers for customers worldwide. Our current investment round, which is open until May 2025, will enable us to accelerate both product development and market expansion, solidifying SemaCytes as a core technology for modern drug discovery.
Where can readers find more information?
Readers can learn more about Semarion and our SemaCyte platform by visiting www.semarion.com or following us on LinkedIn.
About Jeroen Verheyen
Jeroen Verheyen is the Co-Founder and CEO of Semarion, where he leads the development of transformative technologies at the intersection of life sciences and materials physics.
With advanced degrees in Biomedical Sciences and Nanotechnology, Jeroen’s research experience spans drug delivery systems at MIT, neuroinflammation models at the University of Cambridge, and product development in both biotech and medical devices. His diverse background in R&D, consulting, and entrepreneurship gives him unique insight into the challenges of commercializing scientific innovation. At Semarion, Jeroen is dedicated to accelerating drug discovery by creating tools that are faster, more scalable, and more cost-effective, helping researchers generate better data with greater efficiency.