Avigen Strengthens Growth Trajectory Through Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowship Award
London, UK – 1 January 2026 – Avigen Ltd (“the Company”), a privately held Contract Research Organisation developing advanced preclinical immunotherapy R&D services using its proprietary microfluidic platform, today announced that Neelima KC, Founder of Avigen Ltd. has been awarded a prestigious Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowship.
Delivered through the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub, the Enterprise Fellowship is a highly competitive 12-month programme designed to support founders translating engineering-led innovation into scalable, high-impact companies. The programme provides structured business training, one-to-one mentoring, investor and partnership readiness support, and access to a national network of engineers, entrepreneurs and industry leaders.
For Avigen, the Enterprise Fellowship represents a key strategic enabler at a pivotal stage of growth. Participation in the programme will support the Company in advancing its microfluidic immune–target engagement platform, deepening industry partnerships, strengthening its commercial positioning, and preparing for future fundraising and international expansion.
“I am deeply honoured to receive the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Fellowship. To me, it is recognition of the importance of the problem we are working to solve, and a reminder of how much can be achieved when engineering is guided by real human need. I am grateful for the support and mentorship that comes with this Enterprise Fellowship award, and hopeful about what we can continue to build — carefully, responsibly, and with real impact.”
Dr Neelima KC, Founder & COO, Avigen
Through its engagement with the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub, Avigen will benefit from long-term strategic guidance, peer learning, and enhanced visibility within the UK’s engineering and life sciences innovation ecosystem, supporting sustainable growth beyond the Fellowship period.
“The Enterprise Fellowship supports exceptional engineering-led innovations with strong commercial potential. Neelima and the Avigen team demonstrate both technical excellence and a clear vision for impact, and we look forward to supporting their journey as they scale their technology and business.”
Angus Baker, Programme Lead at the Royal Academy of Engineering
The Enterprise Fellowship award further reinforces Avigen’s position as an emerging leader in immune cell discovery and validation, highlighting the role of engineering-driven innovation in advancing next-generation immunotherapies and strengthening the UK’s deep-tech biotechnology sector.
About Avigen
Avigen is a Contract Research Organisation developing a cutting-edge microfluidic platform to accelerate and streamline the discovery and translation of immunotherapies. Avigen’s platform offers holistic insights into cellular interactions at unparalleled throughput, enabling a confident prediction of therapeutic potential to facilitate the rapid validation of immune cell constructs. Avigen is committed to enabling biotech and pharmaceutical companies to unlock the full potential of immunotherapies and bring the next generation of treatments to patients.
Find out more at: https://www.avigen.bio
About the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub
The Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub was formally launched in April 2013. Since then, we have supported over 600 researchers, recent graduates, and leaders of SMEs to start and scale up businesses that can give practical application to innovative engineering solutions. Hub Members have created over 6,100 jobs and raised nearly £4 billion in funding.
The Royal Academy of Engineering creates and leads a community of outstanding experts and innovators to engineer better lives. As a charity and a Fellowship, we deliver public benefit from excellence in engineering and technology and convene leading businesspeople, entrepreneurs, innovators and academics across the profession. As a National Academy, we provide leadership for engineering and technology, and independent, expert advice to policymakers in the UK and beyond. Our work is enabled by funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, corporate and university partners, charitable trusts and foundations, and individual donors.
Find out more at: https://raeng.org.uk/
Contacts
For more information or media enquiries, please contact Avigen at info@avigen.bio.