The cell sorting technology developer has become the first company to be backed by the University of California Riverside-focused VC vehicle Highlander Venture Fund.
The Highlander Venture Fund, a vehicle targeting the University of California (UC) Riverside ecosystem, invested $250,000 into NanoCellect Biomedical, a US-based life science tools spinout from UC San Diego, on Friday.
NanoCellect had previously received $10m in a series B round in November 2017 led by Illumina Ventures, the corporate venturing division of biotech developer Illumina.
Healthcare equipment and services provider Agilent Technologies also took part at the time, contributing cash alongside Anzu Partners, Vertical Venture Partners, FusionX Ventures and 5 Prime Ventures. An unspecified portion was supplied as convertible notes.
The investment marks the first for the Highlander Venture Fund, which was launched in June 2017 with a $10m commitment. UCR Foundation, the university’s non-profit arm that handles philanthropic donations to the institution, injected $2m into the fund.
Founded in 2009, NanoCellect has built a cell sorting machine called Wolf Cell Sorter that allows research laboratories to separate individual cells from mixed populations.
Cellular samples are carried on a microfluidic chip to prevent cross-contamination and reduce physical stress to the specimens during processing.
Jose Morachis, founder and chief executice of NanoCellect, received a biochemistry degree from UC Riverside in 2004 before gaining a PhD in biology at UC San Diego in 2009.
The funding is being used to expand NanoCellect’s business operations and expedite research in fields including genomic sample preparation and antibody discovery. Alexis Ji, partner at Illumina Ventures, joined the board at the time of the original announcement in November.
NanoCellect has now raised a total of $12m in funding. The company previously closed a $1.75m series A round in 2016 that was led by Ken Hood, managing partner at FusionX Ventures.
