Illumina spinout Grail, developer of a blood test for cancer, has received expressions of interest worth about $1bn for its series B round.
Grail, a US-based oncology diagnostics spinout of genomics technology producer Illumina, has received expressions of interest from investors to provide approximately $1bn in series B funding, it said yesterday.
Founded in early 2016, Grail is developing a blood test for cancer that will incorporate Illumina’s high-intensity sequencing technology as well as data gleaned from computer science and population-scale clinical studies.
Illumina and venture capital firm Arch Venture Partners co-led a series A round for Grail that was initially sized at $100m in January 2016 before it eventually closed at $125m.
The series A round also featured Microsoft founder Bill Gates, VC firm Sutter Hill Ventures, Bezos Expeditions, the investment vehicle for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and according to the latest press release, internet technology group Alphabet’s GV unit.
Grail did not disclose the identities of the prospective backers, stating only that they were “undisclosed private and strategic investors”. It has appointed investment bank Goldman Sachs as a placement agent for the round, which it expects to close by the end of March 2017.
Part of the series B funding will go to buying part of Illumina’s stake in the company but the brunt will be used for the development and validation process of the cancer test, including the aforementioned clinical trials, which will require hundreds of thousands of patients.
Jay Flatley, Illumina’s executive chairman and chairman of Grail, said: “This raise, when completed, will provide Grail the resources to develop its first products and embark on the large-scale trials required to demonstrate the stringent performance requirements of a cancer screening test.”
Francis deSouza, president and chief executive of Illumina, added: “This capital allows Grail to take on the significant technology, market and regulatory challenges of developing and validating a blood-based cancer screening test.
“This outcome maximises value to Illumina by creating one of our largest customers of sequencing instruments and consumables over time, providing royalties on future Grail tests and through appreciation of our ownership interest.”
