Sphere Bio Enters Administration: UK Biotech Pioneer Closes Operations After Financial Difficulties
Cambridge-based biotechnology company Sphere Bio Limited has entered administration in August 2025, bringing to an end the operations of a once-promising single-cell analysis technology firm that had served over 400 international customers and held 135 patents.
Company Background and Recent Performance
Sphere Bio, formerly known as Sphere Fluidics until a February 2025 rebrand , was founded in 2010 by Cambridge University professors Chris Abell and Wilhelm Huck. The company specialized in picodroplet-based microfluidics technology for single-cell analysis and isolation, with its flagship Cyto-Mine® platform capable of screening up to 40 million cells per day.
The company had established itself as a significant player in the biotechnology sector, collaborating with seven of the world’s top 10 pharmaceutical companies and raising over £40 million in investment throughout its lifetime. As recently as 2021, the company completed a substantial $40 million funding round led by Sofinnova Partners and Redmile Group.
Financial Difficulties and Administration
According to Companies House records, several key leadership changes occurred in the months leading up to the administration. Most notably, James Patrick Ballesty’s appointment as a director was terminated on August 5, 2025 , just days before reports emerged of the company entering administration.
Dan Bratton, who served as Chemistry Manager at the company, confirmed the administration in a LinkedIn post dated August 7, 2025, stating that “Sphere Bio has entered administration” and that he and many colleagues were seeking new employment opportunities. The post indicates that employees were relieved of their duties as part of the insolvency proceedings.
Industry Context
The closure of Sphere Bio occurs amid a broader wave of financial distress in the biotechnology sector. The first half of 2025 has seen particularly challenging conditions for biotech companies, with biopharma layoffs jumping 32% year-over-year. Industry tracker data shows that at least 128 layoff rounds were reported in the first six months of 2025, compared to 97 rounds in the same period of 2024.
Several factors have contributed to the sector’s struggles, including reduced federal research funding, difficult market conditions for biotech IPOs, and ongoing challenges with clinical trial costs and regulatory approval processes. The Cambridge biotech cluster, where Sphere Bio was based, has been particularly affected, with multiple companies in the region announcing significant workforce reductions.
Recent Expansion Efforts
The administration comes despite recent efforts to expand the company’s global presence. As recently as June 2025, Sphere Bio had announced its expansion into China through a partnership with Redbert Biotechnology, appointing Johnathan Fu as Country Manager for China and Hong Kong. The company had also been actively participating in industry events, including plans to attend the Biopharma Conclave 2025 in Hyderabad, India.
The company had invested significantly in new facilities at Granta Park in Cambridge, consolidating its operations under one roof for the first time in a decade. This move was part of what executives described as reflecting the company’s “maturity as a business” and understanding of its customer base.
Technology and Market Position
Sphere Bio’s proprietary picodroplet technology enabled researchers to analyze and isolate individual cells for applications in biologics discovery, cell therapy, and synthetic biology. The company’s Cyto-Mine platform and its next-generation Cyto-Mine Chroma system were designed to reduce project timelines from months to weeks in biopharmaceutical research.
The technology addressed growing market demand for single-cell analysis capabilities, particularly in areas such as antibody discovery, cell line development, and cellular engineering applications that were experiencing rapid growth in the biopharmaceutical sector.spherebio
Employee Impact
While the exact number of affected employees has not been disclosed, the company was reported to have between 51-200 employees according to its LinkedIn profile. The administration has resulted in job losses across various functions, with employees like Dan Bratton, who held senior technical positions, now seeking new opportunities in the biotechnology sector.
The closure represents another significant loss for the UK’s biotechnology ecosystem, particularly given the company’s established customer relationships with major pharmaceutical companies and its portfolio of patented technologies that had taken over a decade to develop.
The administration of Sphere Bio illustrates the ongoing challenges facing even established biotechnology companies in the current economic environment, where access to capital has become increasingly constrained and the path to profitability remains challenging for many life sciences firms.
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