France-based life sciences startup DNA Script secured €11m ($13.2m) yesterday in a series A round featuring corporate venturing subsidiaries of pharmaceutical firm Merck Group and genetics technology producer Illumina.
Merck Ventures BV and Illumina Ventures were joined by venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners, private equity firm Idinvest Partners and healthcare-focused investment firm Kurma Partners. Sofinnova is an existing backer, though DNA Script has not revealed details of earlier funding.
DNA Script is developing enzymatic technology that aims to expedite the synthesis of DNA and RNA in order to help laboratories create genes and genomes more efficiently.
The funds will be used for further enzymatic research, including the further development of DNA Script’s nucleotide chemistry platform, which will help process oligonucleotides – short strands of DNA or RNA – more quickly and affordably than current approaches.
Thomas Ybert, DNA Script’s co-founder and CEO, said: “With the success of this financial round, that brings together internationally renowned investors, DNA Script reaches a new stage of its development.
“It confirms investors’ confidence in the team’s ability to accelerate technical development, identify new markets and business models, and attract interest from major global players.”