Harvard spinout Emulate will use the cash to further develop its organ-on-a-chip technology, having now raised nearly $225m in total.

Emulate, a US-based biotechnology developer spun out of Harvard University, raised $82m in a series E round led Northpond Ventures on Tuesday.
Perceptive Advisors also contributed funding, bringing the company’s total capital to almost $225m.
Emulate is developing in vitro on-a-chip models of human organs that replicate their function, in order to aid research in human response to drugs.
In addition to potentially accelerating the drug discovery process, the technology is set to benefit from anticipated changes to regulation around animal testing.
Proceeds from the round will be used to scale up research and development for new models related to tumours and immunology, among other areas. Emulate is also partnering two new distributors in the Asia Pacific region to expand its reach.
The company had secured $36m in a 2018 series C round led by Founders Fund with participation from ALS Investment Fund, SciFi VC, members of GlassWall Syndication Association and unnamed existing investors.
Emulate closed its series B round at $45m in October 2016 with backing from hospital Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and clinical laboratory network operator LabCorp.
The series B round was filled out by NanoDimension, OS Fund, Atel Ventures, Leandro P Rizzuto Foundation’s ALS Finding a Cure initiative and Hansjörg Wyss, some having taken part in a $28m tranche several months earlier.
NanoDimension had led a $12m series A in 2014, investing alongside Cedars-Sinai and Wyss.
Jim Corbett, chief executive of Emulate, said: “This fundraise is a testament to the fact that Emulate organ-chips are allowing the exploration of human biology like never before. Over the last year, we have bolstered our leadership team, accelerated product development goals and seen healthy growth in demand for our products.
“Several leading indicators validate our belief that organ-on-a-chip technology will dramatically transform the entire drug discovery and development pipeline and ultimately eliminate unnecessary animal testing.”
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.

Fernando Moncada Rivera

Fernando Moncada Rivera is a reporter at Global Corporate Venturing and also host of the CVC Unplugged podcast.