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Recent News
6/7/2021
Virtual health-care startup LetsGetChecked has raised $150 million in new financing to expand its business after seeing a boom in demand for its services during the pandemic. The funding round, which was led by Casdin Capital, valued the startup at more than $1 billion, Chief Executive Officer Peter Foley said in an interview. Other investors included CommonFund Capital, Illumina Ventures, Optum Ventures, and professional golfer Rory McIlroy through his investment firm Symphony Ventures, the company said in a statement.
5/13/2021
“The pandemic has accelerated the development of LetsGetChecked and the telehealth field by at least 3-5 years,” says Nick Naclerio, Ph.D., Founding Partner at Illumina Ventures.
“We anticipated some tailwinds from COVID-19 testing. But we were blown away by the speed at which the company managed to scale to the challenge.”
1/12/2021
Delfi Diagnostics, Inc., a pioneering developer of a new class of high performance, affordable liquid biopsy tests for early cancer detection, has raised $100 million in Series A funding. {Illumina Ventures participated in the round.} Delfi plans to use this round of funds to expand its team of cancer researchers and machine learning experts and to validate its novel next-generation liquid biopsy technology through multiple prospective clinical studies.
12/15/2020
Company Spotlight - SQZ Biotechnologies
“SQZ has developed an approach to cell therapy manufacturing that could have a major impact on the industry,” said Alexis Ji, Partner at Illumina Ventures. “We are excited about the prospects of creating cell therapies that are less expensive and can be delivered to patients much more rapidly.”
11/19/2020
Rebus Biosystems, Inc. Announces $20 Million Series B
Rebus Biosystems, Inc., a life science technology company building innovative tools to enable spatial omics without compromise, today announced the closing of a $20 million Series B financing round, led by Illumina Ventures...“We are excited to support Rebus Biosystems’ mission to bring powerful new spatial omics tools and assays to market,” said Tom Willis, Partner at Illumina Ventures. “The ability of its technology to increase throughput, without compromising biological fidelity, will offer spatial analysis to researchers throughout the scientific community.”
10/30/2020
Yahoo Finance: SQZ Biotechnologies CEO on IPO debut, company outlook amid COVID-19
Cell therapy and technologies company SQZ Biotechnologies began trading on the NYSE today. Armon Sharei, CEO of SQZ Biotechnologies, joins Yahoo Finance's Zack Guzman and Anjalee Khemlani to discuss.
10/21/2020
“Pattern’s next-gen clinical microbiology platform will set new standards in antibiotic susceptibility testing,” says Nick Naclerio, Illumina Ventures Founding Partner. In our latest Portfolio Company Spotlight, learn how Pattern Bioscience is revolutionizing bacterial diagnosis to fight antibiotic resistance by transforming pathogen identification and antibody susceptibility testing within acute care settings, to optimize decision making for deadly infections such as pneumonia and sepsis.
9/30/2020
Endpoints: Encoded Therapeutics named to The Endpoints 11
The Endpoints 11: Here are some of the most promising startups in biotech. And Covid-19 isn't going to stop them..."The idea driving Encoded’s team revolves around the destructive role that mutations in the SCN1A gene have on GABAergic neurons, which in turn are a likely driver of SCN1A-positive Dravet syndrome."
9/10/2020
Company Spotlight: September 2020 - DNA Script
“The results DNA Script has already obtained in making functional DNA today is impressive, but even more inspiring is the company’s vision of a tomorrow with manufacturing platforms focused upon massively parallel synthesis of longer, high-fidelity nucleic acids — a vision that holds great promise for completely transforming the molecular and synthetic biology solutions market while enabling the data-intensive technology of tomorrow,” said Nick Naclerio, founding partner at Illumina Ventures.
8/11/2020
Wouter Meuleman Promoted to Partner of Illumina Ventures
Illumina Ventures, an independently-managed, healthcare-focused venture firm in a strategic partnership with Illumina, Inc., today announced the promotion of Wouter Meuleman to Partner. Wouter was part of the founding team at Illumina Ventures, initially seconded from Illumina Inc., and later joined full-time in the role of Principal. He led investments in Biota Technology, Inc., Delfi Genomics, Inc., Fluent Biosciences Inc., and Ribometrix; and played a pivotal role in identifying and evaluating numerous other investments.
7/13/2020
Pattern Raises Additional $9M to Fast-track New Technology for the Fight Against Antibiotic Resistance
Pattern Bioscience, Inc. announced $9M in additional funding to accelerate the development and clinical validation of its Digital CultureTM rapid bacterial identification and susceptibility testing (ID/AST) technology. Illumina Ventures led the Series B-1 funding. As part of the transaction, Nick Naclerio, Founding Partner of Illumina Ventures, will join Pattern’s Board of Directors.
7/06/2020
Venture Capital Journal: Illumina Ventures Aims to Make a Difference
A healthcare investor in the San Francisco Bay area has its eyes on investments in cutting-edge genomics. The firm says its rewarding and meaningful. {Registration required}
5/17/2020
Fierce Biotech: SQZ Biotech snags $65M to push cancer vaccine, break into infectious disease
SQZ Biotech is looking to propel its lead asset, a cancer vaccine for HPV-positive tumors, through phase 1 and expand its cell-squeezing technology beyond oncology into infectious diseases. And it's reeled in $65 million to do it.
5/12/2020
Genomics is driving precision medicine, value-based care and many other advances, but there are still barriers to overcome. The ongoing shortage of clinical genomics experts to interpret results is a major bottleneck, keeping many patients from getting the care they need. That’s why Illumina Ventures invested in Genome Medical, which is combining clinical expertise with a sophisticated digital platform to scale genomics and meet the world’s growing demand.
5/5/2020
LetsGetChecked, a leading direct-to-consumer at-home health testing and insights company, announced the closing of $71 million in its Series C round of financing to fuel US expansion. Illumina Ventures and HLM Venture Partners co-led the round with new investors including Deerfield, CommonFund Capital, and Angeles Investment Advisors.
4/26/2020
Actym Therapeutics Raises $34 Million Series A
LetsGetChecked, a leading direct-to-consumer at-home health testing and insights company, announced the closing of $71 million in its Series C round of financing to fuel US expansion. Illumina Ventures and HLM Venture Partners co-led the round with new investors including Deerfield, CommonFund Capital, and Angeles Investment Advisors.
3/24/2020
Kallyope Inc. Announces $112M Series C Financing
Kallyope Inc., a leading biotech company focused on identifying and pursuing therapeutic opportunities involving the gut-brain axis, today announced a $112 million Series C financing. his financing will be used to advance its portfolio of programs and the company’s first clinical trials, further establishing its leadership in the gut-brain axis field.
3/24/2020
For decades, companies have developed small molecule and antibody drugs that specifically target proteins, adjusting their signals – up or down – to alleviate symptoms or, in some cases, cure disease. While this approach has produced many effective medicines, it has limits. Some disease-associated proteins are simply not druggable – they’re difficult to get at or offer no pockets for small molecules to bind. Illumina Ventures company Ribometrix is taking a different approach – targeting the RNA that helps make those proteins.
2/11/2020
Stilla Technologies, a leading provider of pioneering digital PCR (dPCR) solutions for high-precision genetic analysis, has just raised €20 million ($22 million) in a Series B funding round that brought in a new investor, the Chinese group TUS-Holdings, alongside the participation of existing investors Illumina Ventures, Kurma Partners, LBO France, Paris Saclay Seed Funds, BNP Paribas Développement and Idinvest Partners.
2/5/2020
Twist Bioscience, a company enabling customers to succeed through its offering of high-quality synthetic DNA using its silicon platform, today announced it has reached a settlement agreement with Agilent Technologies to resolve all claims and counterclaims in the trade secret litigation filed by Agilent on February 3, 2016.
1/21/2020
If 2019 was a breakthrough year for Watertown, Mass.-based SQZ Biotech, 2020 could be a defining year as the company tests is first antigen-presenting cell asset in the clinic to treat solid tumors that are HPV positive.
1/5/2020
NanoCellect Biomedical Inc., a leader in the development and manufacture of microfluidic cell sorting solutions for cell-based assays, today announced a distribution and partnership agreement with China-based Novogene to distribute NanoCellect’s WOLF® Cell Sorter, N1 Single-Cell Dispenser, consumables and software in China. In addition, Novogene will be adding the WOLF platform to advance their leading-edge genomic services and solutions business.
11/19/2019
NanoCellect Biomedical Inc., a leader in the development and manufacture of microfluidic cell sorting solutions for cell-based assays, today announced a distribution and partnership agreement with China-based Novogene to distribute NanoCellect’s WOLF® Cell Sorter, N1 Single-Cell Dispenser, consumables and software in China. In addition, Novogene will be adding the WOLF platform to advance their leading-edge genomic services and solutions business.
11/18/2019
With CAR-T, expanding out a patient’s T-cells and transducing them with a virus is the most expensive and time-consuming step. That’s according to Armon Sharei, PhD, the 32-year-old CEO of SQZ Biotech, whose cell engineering platform was named as a top 10 world-changing technology by Scientific American in 2014. The company was cleared for its first US clinical trials in October this year.
10/3/2019
9/19/2019
Comprehensive technologies are always intriguing because they can answer many questions at once. Next generation sequencing doesn’t read a few genes, it can read all of them.
8/28/2019
As researchers continue to push the boundaries of science, gentle cell sorting is becoming increasingly important. Accelerated research in regenerative medicine, gene editing, single-cell genomics and other areas require sorting sensitive and fragile cell types.
7/16/2019
Cradle Genomics, inventors of a novel prenatal testing methodology, today announced the close of a highly successful Series A funding round of $17.1 million with select investors.
7/12/2019
One of the keys to diagnosing and treating cancer is understanding the disease on the single cell level. Quite often, damaged cells can be poised on the cliff, uncertain whether to become malignant or take a more benign path.
Current Illumina Ventures portfolio:
Actym Therapeutics, an immuno-oncology company, is targeting intractable immune pathways in the tumor microenvironment. The company has developed a microbial-based immunotherapy platform called STACT (S. Typhimurium Attenuated Cancer Therapy) which, in preclinical studies, specifically enriches in many types of solid tumors and not in healthy tissue.
Biota is the pioneer of industrial genomics with a purpose to commercialize Biology as a Data Business™. Since inception, Biota has created $400M in economic value and saved 1.2B gallons of water for several large customers in the energy, chemicals, agriculture, water, and mining industries. Biota provides genomic monitoring solutions that impact strategic decisions with improved ROIC, increased operating margin, and reduced risk. With global scale, Biota has discovered foundational innovations in microbiome science and measurement and developed innovative, enterprise-grade AI software.
Cernostics is a leader in tissue-based diagnostic testing, providing diagnostic tests with deeper tissue insights, better patient outcomes and lower cost of care. Their mission is to quantify the complexity of the tissue system, providing physicians and patients with individualized, actionable information to improve outcomes and reduce the incidence and mortality of cancer.
Cradle Genomics proprietary assay is based on the genetic analysis of fetal material that are quickly collected during a first trimester visit with no risk to the mother or developing fetus. Headquartered in San Diego with additional R&D operations in Detroit, Cradle Genomics is dedicated to the transformation of NIPT by offering the most comprehensive fetal genetic analysis and pregnancy health screening solutions at the earliest stages of pregnancy.
Delfi Diagnostics is committed to developing high-performing, affordable blood tests for early detection of cancer across multiple tumor types. Leveraging recent advances in cancer biology and machine learning, DELFI's technology can achieve high performance from low-cost, widely available sequencing technology.
DNA Script is a leading company in manufacturing de novo synthetic nucleic acids using an enzymatic technology. The company aims at accelerating innovation in life science and technology through rapid, affordable, and high-quality DNA synthesis. DNA Script's approach leverages nature's billions of years of evolution in synthesizing DNA to set a new standard for how DNA is made and accelerate the adoption of synthetic biology across diverse disciplines such as biopharma, sustainable chemistry and crop science.
Genome Medical, Inc. is a network of clinical genetics experts integrating genomics into everyday health care. We enable patients and clinicians to navigate the rapidly evolving field of genomics to improve health, diagnose and prevent disease, and lower the cost of care. Our goal is to bridge the gap between genomic technology and medical practice by creating scalable, efficient models for lifelong genome-centered health care.
Kallyope is focused on the identification of new therapeutic and consumer opportunities involving the gut-brain axis, the information highway between our gut and our brain. Founded and headquartered in New York City, Kallyope is integrating cutting-edge technologies including single cell sequencing, optogenetics, neural imaging and bioinformatics into a platform that will decode and translate gut-brain circuits, changing the way we think about food, nutrition, and human physiology.
LetsGetChecked is a leading health insights company that allows consumers direct access to a wide range of testing options and clinical services from home. Founded in 2015, the company empowers people to take an active role in their health to live longer, happier lives. By combining health data and diagnostic results, LetsGetChecked provides rich health insights to enable better healthcare decision making.
Luna DNA is the first genomic and medical research database owned by its community. A Public Benefit Corporation, Luna DNA enables people to share their health data for medical research for the greater good of the community.
NanoCellect develops microfluidic technology for cell based assays. NanoCellect’s WOLF cell sorter and N1 single cell plate dispenser allows researchers to perform antibody discovery, cell line development, genomic sample preparation and CRISPR genomic editing faster, safer, and without contamination.
Pattern Bioscience is an in vitro diagnostics company founded to help combat the problem of antibiotic resistance. Pattern’s next-generation clinical microbiology platform, Digital Culture™, is based on its patented phenotypic single-cell technology that can rapidly identify pathogens and determine their antibiotic response without the need for traditional time-consuming culture steps, delivering more reliable diagnoses days faster than the current standard of care.
Rebus Biosystems is a life science technology company building innovative tools to enable spatial omics without compromise. The company’s automated spatial omics solution, which provides subcellular resolution of biological molecules directly in and across large tissue sections, is enabled by the combination of patented Synthetic Aperture Optics with custom microfluidics and image processing.
Ribometrix is a platform therapeutics company discovering small molecule drugs that target functional 3D RNA structures to treat human diseases.
Serimmune reveals the compositions of functional immune repertoires, creating new opportunities for therapeutic and diagnostic development. SerImmune maps the distinct antibodies within a repertoire to antigens associated with infections, allergens, microbiome organisms, autoimmune diseases, and cancers.
IPO in October 2020 (NYSE: SQZ). SQZ Biotechnologies is a cell therapy company developing novel treatments for multiple therapeutic areas. The SQZ platform directly engineers complex cell functions without affecting cell health, with a simple and scalable process. The therapeutic platform can bring cell therapies into indications where new and innovative treatments are needed the most.
Stilla Technologies focuses on accelerating the development of next-generation genetic tests by providing a ground-breaking and flexible digital PCR (dPCR) solution: the Naica System. Taking advantage of cutting-edge microfluidic innovations, Stilla aims to make dPCR a lab commodity for all areas of the life sciences.
IPO in October 2018 (NASDAQ: TWST). At Twist Bioscience, our expertise is accelerating science and innovation by leveraging our proprietary semiconductor-based synthetic DNA manufacturing process featuring a 10,000-well silicon platform to deliver cost-effective, rapid, high-quality and high throughput gene production, to expedite the design, build, test cycle to enable personalized medicines, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, improved agriculture production, diagnostics, biodetection and data storage.
Investments made by Illumina, Inc. prior to the launch of Illumina Ventures:
23andMe, Inc. is the leading personal genetics company. Founded in 2006, the mission of the company is to help people access, understand and benefit from the human genome. 23andMe offers the first and only genetic service available directly to consumers that includes reports that meet FDA standards. More than one million customers worldwide have been genotyped by 23andMe, with over 80 percent consented to participate in research.
Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc. is a leading global molecular diagnostics company committed to improving overall patient care by developing and delivering innovative, affordable, and widely-accessible testing services through its CLIA laboratory. Ariosa has developed leading-edge technologies to perform a directed analysis of cell-free DNA in blood.
Ariosa was acquired by Roche in 2015.
Baebies provides timely, inexpensive and flexible testing for a wide range of pediatric diseases, particularly through newborn screening. We are bringing new technology, new tests, and new hope to children and their parents worldwide. At Baebies, we believe everyone deserves a healthy start.
Boreal Genomics develops novel tools for cancer diagnostics and life sciences research based on a platform for enrichment and purification of nucleic acids licensed from the University of British Columbia in 2007. Boreal has commercialized two products, one for purification of highly contaminated DNA samples with applications in environmental metagenomics and forensics, and the second for enrichment of circulating tumor DNA in the rapidly growing “liquid biopsy” field for therapy selection, monitoring, and early detection of cancer.
CareDx, Inc. is a molecular diagnostics company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of clinically differentiated, high-value diagnostic surveillance solutions for transplant patients. The company has commercialized AlloMap®, a gene expression test that aids clinicians in caring for heart transplant patients. The company also develops AlloSure, a donor-derived cellfree DNA based surveillance solution for Kidney Transplant patients.
CareDx had a successful IPO in 2015.
Counsyl is a health technology company that offers DNA testing for diseases that can impact men, women and their children. The Counsyl philosophy is simple: screen for diseases where advanced knowledge makes a difference in health outcomes, whether it’s changing a behavior, pursuing preventative measures, or simply preparing for what lies ahead.
Headquartered in Reykjavik, Iceland, deCODE is a global leader in analyzing and understanding the human genome. Using their unique expertise and population resources, deCODE has discovered key genetic risk factors for dozens of common diseases ranging from cardiovascular disease to cancer.
deCODE genetics was acquired by Amgen in 2012.
Desktop Genetics is a UK-based software company building a CRISPR AI that enables scientists to modify any cell, in any species by designing and executing personalized CRISPR genome editing, right from their desktop.
Desktop Genetics was acquired by Celixir in 2018.
GenoLogics is a leading provider of laboratory information management system (LIMS) software specifically designed for use with genomics technologies in regulated and unregulated labs. Clarity LIMS offers quick implementation, an intuitive role-optimized interface, and features that make it an invaluable investment for labs that are regulated and utilizing NGS and other genomics technologies.
Genologics was acquired by Illumina in 2015.
Helixis developed and manufactured a low cost, high performance realtime PCR instrument based on a technology developed at Caltech by Nobel Laureate David Baltimore.
Helixis was acquired by Illumina in 2010.
Human Longevity, Inc. (HLI), is creating the world’s largest and most comprehensive database of whole genome, phenotype and clinical data, and by applying large scale computing and machine learning to this data, HLI is making novel discoveries which will revolutionize the practice of medicine. HLI’s business also includes the HLI Health Nucleus™, a genomic powered clinical research center which uses whole genome sequence analysis, advanced clinical imaging and innovative machine learning, along with curated personal health information, to deliver the most complete picture of individual health.
Sequenta was a biotech company dedicated to the discovery and development of clinical diagnostics based on a revolutionary new platform for understanding immune system status. A profound reduction in the cost of DNA sequencing enabled the company to develop brand new approaches to measuring the most variable part of the human genome: the immune cell receptor genes.
Sequenta was acquired by Adaptive Biotechnologies in 2015.
SpeeDx is an innovative Molecular Diagnostics company with class leading multiplexing technology. From highly multiplexed detection assays for Infectious diseases to characterizing SNPs related to antibiotic resistance, SpeeDx is pushing the limits of qPCR and creating more actionable information for laboratories and clinicians alike.