Xcell Biosciences, a US-based cell culturing platform developer backed by gene editing company Illumina, completed a $12m series A round led by HBM Genomics yesterday.
HBM Genomics, a subsidiary of investment firm HBM Healthcare Investments, was joined in the round by all Xcell’s “major existing investors”.
Xcell’s lead product is a cell culturing platform called the Avatar system which replicates the conditions found in vivo environments to help drug developers and researchers produce relevant, reproducible results while working on cellular technology.
Brian S. Feth, CEO of Xcell Biosciences, said: “The continued involvement of such a high-quality group of investors validates the potential of our platform and the traction we have generated to date with our products.
“These new funds will enable us to expand our reach with clinical research customers in oncology, stem cell biology and immunology, as well as customers engaged in cell therapy development and regenerative medicine.”
Xcell graduated from Illumina’s accelerator in mid-2015, receiving $100,000 in convertible debt financing in the process, and also counts Boost VC as an investor.
The company received an additional $5m in funding from life sciences real estate developer Alexandria Real Estate Equities, HBM, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Viking Global Investors, according to VC deals database CrunchBase, but that funding has not been verified.