Cambridge spin-out Expedeon has secured the investment from Santander Corporate and Commercial.

Expedeon, a life sciences spin-out of Cambridge University, has secured £240,000 ($393,000) from Santander Corporate and Commercial.

Expedeon offers protein discovery and analysis technology, and is based on research by Heikki Lanckriet and Daniel Jones.

The spin-out expects to use the funding to advance its production line, refurbish its Cambridgeshire facility and push ahead with its international expansion.

Santander, a Spanish bank and the Eurozone’s largest by market value, made the investment via its corporate and commercial arm in the UK, which is aimed at businesses with an annual turnover of more than £250,000 ($410,000). Through that arm, the bank runs its £200m ($328m) Breakthrough programme aimed at supporting late-stage startups that are generating a turnover between £500,000 ($820,000) and £25m ($41m).

Heikki Lanckriet, chief executive at Expedeon, said: “These are exceptionally exciting times for the business as we renovate our premises and invest in new infrastructure. We are delighted be able to develop our facilities within the UK, as well as our recently opened offices in Singapore. We are pleased to be working with Santander and are extremely grateful for its support and advice at this critical time in the development of Expedeon into a world-class leader in the field of protein discovery and analysis.”