France-based synthetic DNA producer DNA Script secured $38.5m on Friday in a series B round featuring Illumina Ventures and M Ventures, respective subsidiaries of genetic technology producer Illumina and pharmaceutical firm Merck Group.
Public investment bank BPIfrance also supplied series B funding, as did investment firm Idinvest Partners and life sciences-focused venture capital firms LSP and Kurma Partners.
Founded in 2014, DNA Script has built a system that exploits enzymatic and nucleotide biochemical processes to produce synthetic DNA at the scale of an entire human genome.
In addition to drug discovery and development, DNA Script’s platform could be applied to purposes such as data storage, agriculture, industry and food.
The capital will support further development of DNA Script’s technology as it aims to implement enough capacity to deliver DNA synthesis within a single day.
DNA Script’s last funding involved it raising $13.2m in a 2017 series A round led by Illumina Ventures that included M Ventures, then operating as Merck Ventures, as well as Sofinnova Partners, Kurma Partners and Idinvest Partners.
Sofinnova Partners and Kurma Partners had already provided an undisclosed amount of seed funding for the company, according to Synbiobeta. DNA Script identified the former as DNA Script’s first institutional investor, the firm having initially supplied capital in 2016.