The benchtop DNA printer developer DNA Script has expanded upon its most recent venture capital funding round, tacking on an additional $35 million for a grand total of $200 million. The financing will help promote the launch of its new systems.
In late October 2021, the company tallied up $165 million in a series C round co-led by Coatue Management and Catalio Capital Management. Other new investors in that nine-digit fundraising included Fidelity Management and Research, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Arrowmark Partners, Farallon Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures.
Now with a second tranche of investors, DNA Script added T. Rowe Price, Baillie Gifford, HealthCor Management, eureKARE and Irving Investors.
They all joined previously returning backers—such as Casdin Capital, LSP, Illumina Ventures, Bpifrance Large Venture Fund, Danaher Life Sciences, Agilent Technologies, M Ventures, Kurma Partners and Alexandria Venture Investments—in contributing toward the company’s lifetime VC haul of $315 million since its 2014 founding.
DNA Script debuted its Syntax platform in June 2021, featuring an automated nucleic acid printer powered by enzymes within a water-based solution.
Using four genetic “inks”—G, A, T and C—small strings of genetic code are assembled on-demand letter by letter and delivered in a purified, ready-to-use format without the need for managing the potentially toxic chemical reactions employed in previous DNA synthesis methods. These strings can then be used in custom CRISPR applications, the development of cancer sequencing tests or even the long-term storage of data.
“We believe DNA printers have the potential to become as ubiquitous as sequencers and microscopes,” Aaron Weiner, managing director and healthcare head at Coatue Management, said in a statement first announcing DNA Script’s series C round.
Last year also saw DNA Script partner with Moderna in a project backed by the U.S. government to develop on-site vaccines and therapeutics. The companies aim to link the DNA printing technology with Moderna’s mRNA programs to provide a mobile manufacturing platform against new pandemic threats. The vision is to develop a small, container-sized medicine factory that can be deployed anywhere and programmed to quickly counter emerging viruses