Sofinnova Partners Announces DNA Script’ Successful Series A Fundraising of €11 M to Advance Development of Its DNA Synt...
September 12 2017 - 1:00AM
Business Wire
Sofinnova Partners, a leading European venture capital firm
specialized in Life Sciences, today announced that portfolio
company DNA Script, an industry leader in the manufacture of de
novo synthetic nucleic acids using proprietary enzymatic
technology, has raised €11 million. Sofinnova Partners is DNA
Script’s historic and leading shareholder. Alongside existing
shareholders which seeded the company, Sofinnova Partners, Kurma
Partners, and Idinvest Partners, new high profile investors join
the company for this Series A financing round: Illumina Ventures,
and Merck Ventures BV (known as M Ventures in the United States and
Canada), the corporate venture arm of Merck KGaA.
Founded in 2014 in Paris (France), DNA Script is the world’s
leading company in the manufacturing of de novo synthetic nucleic
acids using an enzymatic technology. The company aims at
accelerating innovation in life sciences and technology through
rapid, affordable, and high-quality DNA synthesis. Sixty years
after the discovery of DNA, DNA Script has developed a
revolutionary approach that leverages nature's billions of years of
evolution in synthesizing DNA to enable genome scale synthesis. The
company introduces a novel biochemical process for DNA and RNA
synthesis, a fundamental tool used in biology research. DNA
Script’s innovation may be used in numerous technologies, such as
for instance in the field of electronics for data storage by
leveraging unprecedented capabilities of the molecule to store
information.
Funds raised will allow DNA Script to strengthen its unique
enzymatic technology and nucleotide chemistry platform in order to
manufacture high quality oligonucleotides faster, cleaner and more
affordably than current market standards.
Joško Bobanović, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, said: “We are
excited that DNA Script, which we back since its seed funding, was
able to raise such a significant financing. The company is funded
by a group of investors who share a collective vision of creating a
standalone business that will enable new applications for synthetic
DNA and RNA in drug discovery and development, industrial and food
technologies”.
Thomas Ybert, PhD, DNA Script Co-founder and CEO, added: “With
the success of this financial round, that brings together
internationally renowned investors, DNA Script reaches a new stage
of its development. It confirms investors’ confidence in the team’s
ability to accelerate technical development, identify new markets
and business models, and attract interest from major global
players”.
This new funding reinforces Sofinnova Partners’ investment
strategy in the industrial biotech field initiated in 2009. Being a
pioneer investor in this emerging and rapidly growing field,
Sofinnova Partners has a current portfolio of ten industrial
biotech companies, backed through two dedicated funds: Sofinnova
Green Seed Fund which raised €22,5 M in 2012 and Sofinnova IB I
which raised €106 M in its first closing in 2017.
About Sofinnova PartnersSofinnova Partners is a leading
European venture capital firm specialized in Life Sciences. Based
in Paris, France, the firm brings together 12 highly experienced
investment professionals from all over Europe, the US and China.
The firm focuses on paradigm shifting technologies alongside
visionary entrepreneurs. Sofinnova Partners seeks to invest as a
founding and lead investor in start-ups and corporate spin-offs,
and has backed nearly 500 companies over more than 40 years,
creating market leaders around the globe. Today, Sofinnova Partners
has over €1.6 billion under management.For more information, please
visit: www.sofinnova.fr
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Press contactSOFINNOVA PARTNERSAnne REIN, Tel: +33
6 03 35 92 05anne.rein@strategiesimage.com