ETH Zurich and University of Zurich spinout InSphero has now raised $35m and will commercialise its organ-on-a-chip technology.
InSphero, a Switzerland-based drug testing spinout from ETH Zurich and University of Zurich, secured $10m yesterday in a series D round backed by startup studio Venturelab.
The round also featured private investor Jürg Gysi, alongside existing and new, unnamed backers. Gysi, a former general manager of life science product maker Promega’s Switzerland branch, has been president of InSphero’s board of directors since 2014.
InSphero’s preclinical drug testing platform utilises three-dimensional microtissues to build models for liver toxicology, metabolic diseases and oncology.
These microtissues are phenotypic impressions of the smallest functional unit of a tissue or organ, providing more accurate predictions of the effects of drug candidates than two-dimensional cell cultures.
The spinout has also developed an organ-on-a-chip testing system, branded Akura Flow, which contains multiple cell types within a single culture to better imitate the physiology of a human organ.
Akura Flow is already in use with InSphero’s partners, which include ETH Zurich and drug developer Roche Pharmaceuticals.
The capital will be allocated for further development of InSphero’s drug testing platforms for metabolic diseases and cancer.
InSphero has now raised a total of $35m in funding, according to its latest press release, including $20.1m of series C capital received in 2015 from an unnamed family office represented by HP Wild Holding.
The spinout had secured $2.2m in series B equity and loans from undisclosed investors in 2013.
