Life science technology provider 10x Genomics agreed on Monday to purchase US-based gene sequencing technology producer ReadCoor in a $350m deal that will give an exit to pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly.
Spun out of Harvard University, ReadCoor has developed products such as a spatial sequencing system that can spatially resolve up to thousands of RNA, DNA, therapeutic molecules and proteins.
Goldman Sachs advised ReadCoor on the acquisition, which will consist of a combination of cash and stock. The company had raised $50m in funding since it was founded in 2016.
Eli Lilly subsidiary Lilly Ventures contributed to a $23m series A round for ReadCoor in 2016 that was led by Decheng Capital and also backed by Vivo Capital and Hansjörg Wyss.
ReadCoor secured another $27m in a January 2020 series B round that included Singaporean state-owned vehicle Pavilion Capital, Decheng Capital, Hansjörg Wyss and undisclosed existing investors.
The deal was announced alongside news 10x closed the acquisition of CartaNA, a Sweden-based developer of in situ sequencing technology for use in analysing RNA, in August this year. CartaNA was spun out of Stockholm University and raised $1m from investors including Sciety and Almi Invest in 2018.
