Oxford Nanopore Technologies, a UK-based DNA sequencing technology producer backed by sequencing and array-based technology provider Illumina, raised £70m ($109m) in a private placement to undisclosed new and existing investors yesterday.
Oxford Nanopore provides nanopore-based electronic systems that can analyse single DNA, RNA or protein molecules. In 2014 it released the world’s first DNA sequencer based on nanopore sensing – a method of analysing DNA through tracking microscopic holes called nanopores.
The funding will support work on Oxford Nanopore’s product range and the development of its product pipeline, as well as an expansion in its manufacturing capabilities and commercial activity.
Oxford Nanopore has now raised £251m in funding since its formation in 2005. Its first funding consisted of two seed rounds provided by intellectual property commercialisation company IP Group, before Illumina invested $18m in 2009.
The company’s other existing backers include Lansdowne Partners, Invesco Perpetual, Odey Asset Management, which contributed to a £40m round in 2013, and Woodford Investment Management, which first invested as part of a $59m round in August 2014.