Bit.bio, a UK-based developer of stem cell programming technology, completed a $103m series B round today featuring internet group Tencent, drug development services profider Charles River Laboratories and pharmaceutical manufacturer National Resilience.
Puhua Capital, Arch Ventures, Foresite Capital and Metaplanet also contributed to the round, which took company’s total funding to approximately $153m.
Founded in 2016 as Elpis Biomed and spun out of University of Cambridge, Bit.bio has built a technology platform that reprograms stem cells for a variety of purposes and which is able to create unlimited batches of human cells to use in therapies.
The proceeds of the round will be used to develop the company’s opti-ox gene engineering technology and scale its human cell products offering.
The company’s $41.5m series A round was co-led by private investors Richard Klausner, Bob Nelsen and Jim Tananbaum in June 2020 and also featured venture capital firms Arch Venture Partners, BlueYard Capital and Foresite Capital.
Mark Kotter, chief executive of Bit.bio, said: “I am thrilled that Bit.bio is supported by world class investors and strategic partners. The capital will enable us to accelerate our clinical and commercial scale-up and to deliver cell therapies for every patient, everywhere.”
