Singapore-based life sciences tool provider Esco Lifesciences completed $200m in series A and crossover funding yesterday, with pharmaceutical firm Novo co-leading the financing.
Venture capital firm Vivo Capital co-led the round, which also featured sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corporation and the Singaporean state-owned EDBI.
Esco manufactures tools for use in diagnostic sample preparation, cultivation, storage and analysis, in addition to larger-scale products like mobile diagnostic laboratories, covid-19 swab booths and airborne infection isolation rooms.
The funding will support the company’s expansion in China in addition to the establishment of an innovation centre in the US centre of Boston.
Novo Holdings CEO Kasim Kutay said: “As a long term, global, life sciences investor, Novo Holdings is delighted to be partnering with the like-minded team at Esco.
“The opportunities for growth and expansion at Esco are significant and we look forward to bringing to bear our patient capital and life science expertise to the realisation of the company’s strategy.”
Amit Kakar, head of Novo Holdings Asia, is joining the company’s board of directors. He added: “Novo Holdings established its Asia presence with the opening of its Singapore office in January of this year and our investment in Esco is a very important milestone in the development of our regional ambitions.”
