US-based biotechnology company Element Biosciences has raised $277m in a Series D financing round to advance its DNA sequencing and multi-omics technologies.
The oversubscribed funding round was led by private investment management company Wellington Management, bringing Element’s total funding to more than $680m.
Investors such as Samsung Electronics, Fidelity, Foresite Capital, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, and Venrock, among others, also participated in the financing round.
Wellington Management Private Investing healthcare sector lead Joshua Sommerfeld said: “After years of watching Element’s impressive progress from the sidelines, we are excited to support the company’s next chapter of growth and development.
“Their platform combines quality, cost, and flexibility advantages that disrupt the incumbent price curve. By bringing end-to-end integrated multi-omic workflows onto a single system, Element has the potential to accelerate biological discovery.”
Element intends to use the funding for the marketing of its AVITI benchtop DNA sequencing solution and support the upcoming launch of AVITI24.
AVITI24 combines advanced sequencing and cyto-profiling (mapping cell characteristics) into a single integrated biology platform.
The device enables researchers to simultaneously examine DNA, RNA, proteins, phosphoproteins, and cell structure within single cells.
The consolidation simplifies workflows and data analysis to deliver comprehensive results within 24 hours, with 45 minutes of hands-on time, said the biotechnology company.
Element Biosciences CEO Molly He said: “Element has taken the first step to democratise sequencing and will continue helping the community uncover the secrets of biology with high-quality, flexible, rapidly iterative, and affordable tools that are accessible to more scientists.
“An oversubscribed round against the backdrop of a challenging macroeconomic environment is a testament to our mission. With the support of our new and existing investors, Element is solidifying its future as the next name-brand biological tools company – a true unicorn.”
“Reflecting on Element’s journey, we simply wouldn’t have made it to this remarkable stage without the initial pioneers and risk-takers who formed our earliest customer base. Element is especially grateful for their support.”
