US-based home diagnostics technology developer Sherlock Biosciences received $80m in series B funding yesterday from investors including Illumina Ventures, the venture capital fund backed by genomics technology producer Illumina.
Venture capital firm Novalis LifeSciences led the round, which also featured Albany Capital, Catalio Capital Management and existing investors including Northpond Ventures and Good Ventures. The company’s funding stands at $111m since it was founded in 2019.
Sherlock is working on molecular-level diagnostic kits leveraging synthetic biology and Crispr gene-editing technology. Its lead product, Inspectr, produces a detectable reporter protein to detect DNA or RNA molecules in a sample.
The company had previously closed a $31m series A round in 2019 that included $13.5m from Baidu Ventures, a corporate VC subsidiary of internet group Baidu, and additional funding from Open Philanthropy Project, Northpond Ventures and unnamed others.
Bryan Dechairo, Sherlock’s president and chief executive, said: “Sherlock is dedicated to breaking down diagnostic barriers and bringing health information to people around the world.
“Our novel chemistries combine the accuracy of PCR with the simplicity and convenience of antigen tests, powering a decentralised diagnostic platform for DNA and RNA detection. We are grateful to our funding partners for supporting our mission to ignite a convenience revolution in healthcare and further global public health.”
