Alexandria Venture Investments, the venture capital branch of life sciences real estate operator Alexandria Real Estate Equities, led a $20m series C round for US-based biomolecular technology developer Biodesy on Monday.
The round also featured Pfizer Ventures and Roche Venture Fund, corporate venturing vehicles for pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Roche, as well as VC firm 5AM Ventures.
Biodesy has created a biomolecule characterisation platform that can help scientists discover and develop medicines by enabling them to measure the way biological molecules change structure in real time.
The funding was disclosed together with the promotion of chief operating officer Ariel Notcovich to chief executive. Biodesy will use the funding to strengthen its technology and hire new members of its scientific and commercial operations team.
Monica Beam, Alexandria Venture Investments’ senior vice-president of science and technology, said: “Alexandria Venture Investments is constantly searching for innovative life science and technology companies like Biodesy that are developing breakthrough technologies and therapies.
“We believe in Ariel as a leader and in the Delta System’s ability to transform drug discovery and development by enabling customers to directly measure on-target structural effects faster and more cost-effectively than ever before.”
The company has now raised a total of approximately $45m. 5AM Ventures led a $15m series A round in 2013 that included Pfizer Venture Investments and Roche Venture Fund, before all three returned for a $10m series B in early 2016.
– Image courtesy of Biodesy, Inc.