Sansanima: Navigating Intellectual Property to Eliminate Animal Testing

Sansanima is a Sheffield-based medical research company with the mission of eliminating animal testing in the development and quality control of essential medicines. Founded in 2024 as a spin-out from the University of Sheffield, the company is built on pioneering research led by Professor Andrew Peden at the University’s School of Biosciences.

For some medicines, particularly those developed using powerful toxins, global regulators require animal testing of each batch to verify safety and effectiveness. At the same time, those regulators recognise the need for alternative methods and have made their development a priority.

Technology pioneered by Sansanima could eliminate the need for animal testing altogether, and the team hope that their innovative approach will improve both scientific outcomes and animal welfare in the development and manufacture of life-saving medication.

The Challenge

Drawing on more than a decade of research, and working closely with regulators, Sansanima developed laboratory technologies capable of replacing the animal-based tests used in vaccine development. Having demonstrated the scientific viability of their technology, the team began exploring commercial opportunities, and understood that bringing their innovation to market would require a clear understanding of the complex intellectual property landscape.

Chief Executive Dr. Ciara Doran explained, ‘The scientific principles behind our technology had already been proven. There’s a strong business case for replacing animal testing. Our technology is quicker and more predictive, but we needed to understand whether we could go to market without infringing existing patents. The intellectual property landscape is very complex, and although there aren’t many specialists who do what we do, we needed to be certain that there was an opportunity in the market and understand how we could innovate in that space. When I read about the support available through SYIP, I felt it could really benefit the research we needed to undertake, so we decided to apply and were accepted onto the programme.’

The Project

SYIP academic support enabled Sansanima to undertake a comprehensive review of the international intellectual property landscape. Dr. Charlotte Leese, Research Associate at the University of Sheffield’s School of Biosciences, was appointed to the project and worked alongside an experienced scientific research and patent specialist to examine more than 900 patents across the UK, Europe, North America, Asia, and Australasia.

‘It wasn’t simply an intellectual property review. It became a platform for innovation. We’d sit down as a team, look at what already existed, identify what we couldn’t do and then ask ourselves, “What can we do instead?” That process generated completely new ideas.’

As the project progressed, Dr. Leese developed a structured framework for assessing patent activity, which reduced the initial pool of over 900 patents down to just 150 highly relevant patents. The framework also enabled the team to undertake detailed competitor analysis and helped identify market gaps and opportunities for further innovation.

Impact

Working with SYIP provided Sansanima with dedicated resources to focus on a critical piece of research which would otherwise have taken much longer to complete.

Dr. Doran explained, ‘We knew the research was vital to the future commercial viability of the business, but it was a huge undertaking. The SYIP academic support gave us the space and time to do it properly. It helped us gain a much more comprehensive understanding of the market and has accelerated our plans to launch and grow the business.’

Beyond addressing the immediate intellectual property challenges, the framework developed through the project remains a valuable tool for evaluating future intellectual property opportunities and supporting further product development.

Future Plans

With a clearer understanding of the market and competitive landscape, Sansanima is now developing new products identified through the project and aims to launch them within the next 12 months. The company is also strengthening relationships with regulators, investors and pharmaceutical partners while exploring further collaborative research opportunities with the University of Sheffield.

‘Our ambition has always been to solve real-world problems. The support we received through SYIP gave us the confidence to enter this market and a roadmap for how to do it. It’s brought us significantly closer to turning years of research into products that can make a genuine global impact.’

Andrew Peden declared a potential conflict of interest due to their position as both Professor of Biosciences at The University of Sheffield and Director of Sansanima Limited. The University of Sheffield acknowledge this potential conflict of interest and confirm that the University of Sheffield SYIP team assessed and approved the project proposal independently, based on its own merits, its meeting of SYIP eligibility criteria, and its proposed impacts.

The South Yorkshire Innovation Programme is being delivered by Sheffield Hallam University in partnership with The University of Sheffield and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and is part-funded by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

To find out more about SYIP, please visit shu.ac.uk/syip