WuXi AppTec has co-led an $85m funding round for US-based molecular-simulation software developer Schrödinger through its Corporate Venture Fund.
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Trust, the endowment arm of philanthropic organisation Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, co-led the round, which included GV, an early-stage investment subsidiary of internet and technology conglomerate Alphabet.
Asset management firm Baron, hedge fund Deerfield Management and venture capital firm Qiming Venture Partners filled out the round.
Founded in 1990, Schrödinger has developed advanced molecular-simulation and enterprise software that helps accelerate drug discovery and material design processes.
Schrödinger has also co-founded a range of biotechnology companies, such as Nimbus Therapeutics and Morphic Therapeutics, both of which have corporate investors.
The capital injection will support continued growth, the further development of Schrödinger’s computation platform and the expansion of a drug discovery pipeline that includes both proprietary assets and candidates developed with partners.
The company will also recruit more scientists and developers, adding to a current headcount of almost 400 employees.
Bill Gates, co-chairman of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, previously led a $22m funding round for Schrödinger in 2015 and a $20m investment in 2012, having already provided $10m in 2010 through his investment firm, Cascade Investment.
Ge Li, chairman of WuXi Group and chief executive of WuXi AppTec, said: “We continue to be impressed by Schrödinger’s ability to drive in an innovative way the development of new medicines.
“We look forward to the accelerated progress this investment will bring for patients who are counting on our industry to deliver medicines and treatments for critical, unmet medical needs.”
