FOUNDER
Cellvanta is led by Siddharth Krishnan.
A life sciences advisor with a decade of experience across industry and academia in cell therapy, analytical development and biotech funding, combining scientific depth with the operational and strategic perspective programmes need at decision points.
ABOUT SID
A decade at the intersection of science, development and capital.
Sid (Siddharth) Krishnan is the founder of Cellvanta. He brings a decade of hands-on experience across cell therapy, analytical development and CMC strategy, combining scientific depth with senior advisory perspective for the founders, teams and investors operating at the edge of advanced therapies.
Most recently, Sid led analytical strategy and competitive intelligence for CAR-Treg programmes at Quell Therapeutics, where his work directly supported two milestone investment decisions with AstraZeneca, each unlocking £10M of programme funding to support IMPD packages. Prior to that, he spent three years at the Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult leading analytical packages that supported transitions for biotech clients, designing assay qualification strategies, and managing the flow cytometry core facility.
His academic foundation is in neuro-immunology, mucosal immunity and translational research, including PhD training in Neuroscience at the University of Manchester. He has published widely in high-impact journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Journal of Experimental Medicine, Science Immunology and Stem Cell Reports. His work contributed to international consortium work on iPSC characterisation standards relevant to advanced therapy development.
Cellvanta was founded to bring this combination of scientific depth, programme-level execution experience and investor-facing perspective to the conversations that determine where biotech programmes go next.
TRACK RECORD
Work that has moved programmes forward.
£20M
Unlocked across milestone investment decisions supporting cell therapy programmes.
40%
Throughput improvement delivered through workflow optimisation in analytical operations, alongside meaningful reductions in operating costs.
1300+
Citations from publications on advanced therapies, translation, neuroscience and immunology research across industry and academia.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Where I work, and what I bring.
My work sits at the intersection of CMC depth, analytical strategy and the operational realities of advanced therapy programmes, increasingly extending into AI × biotech and cross-border investment perspectives.
Technical depth
Flow cytometry — panel design, qualification, decision-grade readouts
Potency assays and analytical strategy across cell therapies
CMC, comparability and lifecycle development
CAR-T, CAR-Treg, iPSC-derived therapies
High-parameter immune phenotyping and translational immunology
Strategic and advisory
Technical due diligence for investors and boards
Programme readiness against TRL and MRL frameworks
Competitive intelligence and scientific landscape analysis
AI × biotech awareness, with curated specialist network access
Cross-border (UK–GCC) advisory through MCAGulf
RECOGNITION & SCHOLARSHIP
Selected peer-reviewed output and scientific recognition.
Work spanning advanced therapy standardisation, immunology, neuroscience and clinical translational research including contributions to international consortium work on iPSC characterisation and quality assessment standards relevant to cell and gene therapy development.
Selected Publications
Towards Standardised iPSC Testing: Insights from a multi-year international quality assessment round.
Hagg A, Wood R, …, Krishnan S, et al. 2026
Stem Cell Reports
Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells are present in the healthy gingiva tissue.
Krishnan S, Wemyss K, Prise IE, McClure FA, et al., 2021
Journal of Experimental Medicine
A hyperacute immune map of ischaemic stroke patients reveals alterations to circulating innate and adaptive cells.
Krishnan S*, O'Boyle C, Smith CJ, Hulme S et al., 2021
Clinical and Experimental Immunology
*Corresponding Author
Old dog new tricks: revisiting how stroke modulates the systemic immune landscape.
Krishnan S* and Lawrence CB, 2019
Frontiers in Neurology
*Corresponding Author
Amphiregulin producing γδ T cells are vital for safeguarding oral barrier immune homeostasis.
Krishnan S, Prise IE, Wemyss K, Bridgman H, et al., 2018
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Longitudinal immune profiling reveals distinct features of COVID-19 pathogenesis.
Mann ER, Menon M, … Krishnan S, et al., 2020
Science Immunology
See the full publication list on Google Scholar
Selected Recognition
Outstanding contribution to Patient and Public Involvement and Engagement Award.
University of Manchester · 2019
Klaus Reymann Young Scientist's Award
10th International Symposium on Neuroprotection and Neurorepair - Dresden, Germany · 2018
President's Doctoral Scholar Award & Faculty of Life Sciences Research Scholarship
University of Manchester · 2014
Undergraduate Award winner — Life Sciences
The Global Undergraduate Awards · 2014
Find me on
Let's talk about your programme.
Whether you're navigating a CMC decision, a financing milestone, or thinking about where AI fits into your biotech roadmap, please get in touch.