US-based DNA synthesiser Twist Bioscience increased its latest round to $60m on Wednesday, securing funding from investors including pharmaceuticals provider Kangmei Group.
Biomatics Capital, Reinet Fund, FIS, NFT Investment, Bay City Capital GF Xinde Life Science Investment Fund, 3W Partners Capital and Ditch Plains Capital Management also participated in the $27m second close, which follows a $33m first tranche in March 2017.
Founded in 2013, Twist has developed a semiconductor-based process of manufacturing synthetic DNA for use in drug discovery and DNA digital data storage. The round’s close increased its total funding to $191m.
Emily M. Leproust, Twist’s CEO, said: “We have built a truly disruptive, scalable DNA synthesis technology platform that is now operating on a commercial scale, providing customers in many different synthetic biology-driven industries with products to accelerate their research and product development efforts.
“Importantly, with top tier investors and strategic partners standing behind us, we look forward to rapidly advancing the growth of our core gene synthesis market, and expanding our focus into two key vertical markets, drug discovery and DNA digital data storage.”
Genomics technology provider Illumina led Twist’s $37m series C round in 2015, investing together with financial services group Fidelity Management and Research, Foresite Capital Management, Tao Invest, Arch Venture Partners, Paladin Capital and private investor Yuri Milner.
All of the series C participants also took part in a January 2016 series D round that closed at $61m with support from WuXi Healthcare Ventures and Mérieux Développement, subsidiaries of biotech companies WuXi PharmaTech and Institut Mérieux, Arch Overage Fund, Cormorant Asset Management and Boris Nikol.