Oxford Nanopore packs $98.1m

Oxford Nanopore, a UK-based genetic sequencing technology spinout of University of Oxford, today secured an additional £48.4m ($59.6m) from undisclosed new and existing investors to bring its latest round to $98.1m.
The extension follows an initial $38.5m tranche from unnamed backers in January 2020. The consortium includes investors from the US, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific.
Oxford Nanopore’s existing investors sold $106m worth of shares in a secondary transaction revealed with the first tranche, including $28.9m disposed of by commercialisation firm IP Group.
IP Group now owns a 15.9% undiluted stake in Oxford Nanopore at a $318m valuation, down $7.5m from before the round.
Founded in 2005, Oxford Nanopore has created a DNA and RNA sequencing technology for conducting biological analyses of samples of any read length and at relatively low cost.
The sequencers, which come in both portable and large-scale formats, are primarily pitched toward scientific research projects but are also increasingly used in regulated sectors such as healthcare and food safety.
Oxford Nanopore recently unveiled it has a Covid-19 diagnostics test called Lampore in advanced development, and it has worked extensively with epidemiologists tackling the pandemic.
Hagan Bayley, professor of chemical biology at University of Oxford, was responsible for the company’s founding research. The fresh capital will fuel its growth and innovation trajectory.
Oxford Nanopore was previously reported to be seeking about $2.1bn in a planned private placement, though this was never officially confirmed. The spinout has now assembled approximately $692m of funding to date.
Oxford Nanopore closed a $206m round in October 2018 with $66m from drug developer Amgen, having raised an initial $140m in March 2018 from GIC, the sovereign wealth fund of Singapore, in addition to superannuation fund Hostplus, financial services firm China Construction Bank and unnamed existing investors.
The spinout closed a $126m round in 2016 led by investment fund GT Healthcare with participation from IP Group, Woodford Investment Management and unnamed new and existing investors, after raising $107m in 2015 from IP Group and assorted unnamed backers.
Oxford Nanopore’s other existing investors include genomics company Illumina, which injected $18m in 2009, as well as Odey Asset Management, Invesco Perpetual, Top Technology Ventures and Lansdowne Partners.