Portal Biotech builds instruments designed to reveal whole proteins rather than fragmented sequences. Its core product is a bench-top single-molecule protein sequencer based on nanopore technology, coupled with machine-learning algorithms. The instrument is intended to deliver rapid, real-time information about protein identity, abundance, structure and post-translational modifications.
The work spans several technical domains at once: nanopore research, machine learning, hardware and software engineering, and biology, including the detection of post-translational modifications. The company employs scientists, engineers, machine-learning specialists and product teams, and was founded by DNA-sequencing veterans. Staff work directly across biology, nanopore research, hardware and software functions, with an emphasis on practical experimentation and careful validation.
Portal Biotech operates from two locations: London, at Scale Space in the White City Innovation District, and Groningen in the Netherlands. It describes itself as a mission-driven, high-performance, cross-functional start-up, with diversity and inclusion presented as fundamental to the team. The intended applications of its technology span drug discovery, diagnostics, biosecurity and fundamental biological research.
