US-based biotechnology analysis firm Illumina secured $40m yesterday in an initial commitment for its Illumina Accelerator Boost Capital fund from investment firm Viking Global Investors.
The fund will support genomic startups graduating from the company’s Illumina Accelerator, matching any amount of funding between $1m and $5m raised from outside investors.
The accelerator, the first to focus on the genomics sector, was launched in October 2014. It consists of a six-month programme that provides startups with seed funding, mentoring, access to Illumina’s products and dedicated laboratories.
The first three startups to be admitted to the accelerator include Encoded Genomics, a biopharmaceutical company analysing the human genome to identify elements with therapeutic properties.
EpiBiome is an agriculture technology company working on the prevention and treatment of mastitis in dairy cattle, an inflammation of the udder. Xcell Biosciences enables researchers to grow primary cells from patient blood, including cancer and immune cells.
Amanda Cashin, head of Illumina Accelerator, said: “This capital commitment will be instrumental in driving value for our startups as they advance breakthrough applications in genomics.”
The accelerator began accepting applications for its spring 2015 cohort last week.