Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a UK-based gene sequencing technology developer that counts genomics technology producer Illumina as an investor, raised £100m ($140m) in funding today.
The round included GIC, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore, as well as Australian superannuation fund Hostplus and financial services firm China Construction Bank along with unnamed existing shareholders.
Founded in 2005, Oxford Nanopore has developed real-time DNA and RNA sequencing technology that offers low-cost biological analysis through products such as the portable Minion, the desktop version Gridion X5 and the large-scale Promethion.
The technology has applications in disease and pathogen surveillance, environmental monitoring, food supply chain inspection and microgravity biology.
Oxford Nanopore is working on additional devices including an automated, programmable USB sample-preparation device called Voltrax, a single-test nanopore sequencing adapter for Minion called Flongle and a smartphone sequencer, dubbed Smidgion.
The technology is based on research by Hagan Bayley, professor of chemical biology at University of Oxford. Since 2008, the spinout has also been collaborating with researchers at Harvard University, Boston University and University of California, Santa Cruz.
The funding will support research and development, the construction of a manufacturing facility in Oxford and the expansion of Oxford Nanopore’s commercial team. It has now raised about £450m altogether.
Illumina provided $18m for the company in 2009, before joining Lansdowne Partners, IP Group, Invesco Perpetual and Redmile Group for a $41m round two years later. Oxford Nanopore subsequently secured $109m in a 2015 private placement.
The company closed a $126m round in late 2016 led by investment fund GT Healthcare that included IP Group, Woodford Investment Management and undisclosed new and existing backers. Its early investors include Odey Asset Management and Top Technology Ventures.
– The original version of this article appeared on our sister site, Global University Venturing. Photo courtesy of Oxford Nanopore Technologies.