Corporate venturing fund Physic Ventures has led a $15m third round of financing for T2 Biosystems, a US-based developer of portable medical diagnostic products, after the US government’s Central Intelligence Agency publicly dropped out of the series C round.
Physic Ventures is a $160m corporate venturing fund with consumer goods company Unilever as majority limited partner and including other strategic investors in drinks group Pepsi and healthcare company Humana. US venture capital firms Arcus Ventures, RA Capital, Camros Capital and WS Investments joined the series C round for T2, along with repeat VC backers Flagship Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners, Flybridge Capital Partners and Partners Healthcare.
However, In-Q-Tel, which had come into T2 at its $10.8m series B round in 2008 is no longer publicly backing the company after the departure of its lead partner on the deal, Simon Davidson. In-Q-Tel was unavailable for comment. In 2008 when it joined T2’s financial backers, Davidson had said: "In-Q-Tel is interested in the promise of portable, laboratory quality diagnostic technology solutions for both the public and private sectors.
"The advances in capability and mobility of this medical technology are significant, and our investment in T2 Biosystems directly reflects our mission to identify, adapt and deliver innovative technologies that enhance our national security interests."
T2 had originally closed a $5.5m series A round in 2006 to develop the first decentralized clinical diagnostic product that eliminates extensive sample preparation and enables rapid molecular and immunodiagnostic testing on a single instrument.