Existing investor Alexandria Venture Investments has helped genetic sequencing technology developer TwinStand increase its overall funding to $21.5m.
US-based genetic sequencing technology developer TwinStrand Biosciences has completed a $16m series A round featuring Alexandria Venture Investments, an investment vehicle for life sciences real estate investment trust Alexandria Real Estate Equities.
The round includes $12m of newly raised capital and was led by Madrona Venture Group with contributions from Ridgeback Capital and Sahsen Ventures.
Founded in 2015 as a spinout of University of Washington, TwinStrand has created a system called Duplex Sequencing that combines software and biochemistry to enhance the resolution of existing DNA sequencers in order to better identify rare genetic mutations.
The funding will support TwinStrand’s commercial strategy, which involves targeting applications including early cancer detection, genetic toxicology and drug development, while it extends its corporate infrastructure.
The company had previously raised $5.5m in seed capital in 2017, and Alexandria Venture Investments took part in the series A round as an existing investor.