Cambridge Epigenetix has now raised $56.5m from investors including the university and Alphabet’s GV for its epigenetics-powered diagnostic platform.
Cambridge Epigenetix, a UK-based epigenetic technology spinout of University of Cambridge, received $30m today in a series C round led by investment firm Ahren Innovation Capital and backed by unspecified existing investors.
Founded in 2012, Cambridge Epigenetix is developing an epigenetics-powered diagnostic screening platform that combines several tests for indications including cancer into a single blood-draw exam.
The test works by identifying instances of a DNA strand called 5-hydroxymethycytosine that can be linked to specific diseases.
Epigenetics is the study of inherited differences caused by a modification of gene expression rather than in DNA sequences themselves.
The technique helped Cambridge Epigenetix devise technology that can discriminate between DNA alterations more precisely than other genome sequencing approaches.
The spinout was co-founded by Shankar Balasubramanian, a professor of in Cambridge’s Department of Chemistry who leads research examining DNA for the purposes of life sciences and molecular medicine.
Bobby Yerramilli-Rao, a partner at Hermes Growth Partners who received an MA from Cambridge in electrical engineering, also helped start the company.
GV, a corporate venturing subsidiary of internet group Alphabet, led Cambridge Epigenetix’s $21m series B round in 2016, with participation from the university as well as New Science Ventures, Syncona Partners and Sequoia Capital.
Epigenetix had previously obtained $5.5m in a 2014 series A round backed by Cambridge Enterprise, the university’s tech transfer office, together with New Science and Syncona.