Inscripta, a US-based gene-editing technology developer that emerged out of University of Colorado, Boulder, closed a $55.5m series C round on Wednesday.
The round was co-led by Mérieux Développement, the investment arm of healthcare technology provider Institut Mérieux and VC firm Paladin Capital, while Venrock, Foresite, MLS Capital and NanoDimension also participated.
Founded in 2015 as Muse Biotechnology, Inscripta’s offering enables researchers to engineer cells by using a suite of gene-editing tools including instruments, reagents and software.
The technology is based on research by Ryan Gill, Slade professor of chemical and biological engineering at University of Colorado, Boulder.
The funding will enable Inscripta to strengthen its research capabilities and drive recruitment. The company is also aiming to increase its commercialisation activities.
Venrock previously led Inscripta’s $23m series B round in February 2017, which included Foresite, Paladin, NanoDimension and MLS, the latter two having supplied the company with $6m in series A capital in 2016.
François Valencony, general manager at Merieux Développement, said: “Inscripta is unique in building the best set of tools that allow researchers and industrial players to engineer strains and enzymes, while owning the fruits of their results outright.
“As the company prepares for the next set of breakthroughs and first commercial launch, we are excited to work with a very talented team to accelerate what we consider will be a game changer for the industry.”
– A version of this article first appeared on our sister site, Global Corporate Venturing.