Genomics tools company RainDance Technologies Inc, Billerica, Mass, has closed a $16.5 million Series E financing round extension. New investors include GE Ventures and Northgate Capital; all existing financial investors also participated in this round of financing.
Devoted to making molecular testing of complex diseases more standardized and readily available, RainDance is developing a liquid biopsy method that makes use of readily accessible fluids, providing a minimally invasive and low-cost healthcare solution for patients. The additional investment is expected to accelerate RainDance’s commercial expansion and assay development initiatives for the company’s products:
- RainDrop digital PCR system, which provides unparalleled sensitivity for research into early detection and monitoring of cancers, viruses, pathogens, and immune markers.
- ThunderStorm targeted sequencing system, which advances research into and understanding of hereditary risk, inherited diseases, and hematologic malignancies.
- ThunderBolts cancer panel, which delivers an actionable, fast, simple, and low-cost sequencing profile of somatic tumor mutations in molecular biopsies or biobanked samples.
GE Ventures is the second strategic investor in RainDance, following an investment from Myriad Genetics in 2013.
Sue Siegel, GE Ventures
“We believe technology will play a major role in transforming patient care, and by partnering with leading innovators we can help scale the best new ideas in major industries like healthcare,” said Sue Siegel, CEO of GE Ventures and healthymagination. “We have followed RainDance’s progress for many years and are impressed with how the company’s cutting-edge technologies are advancing the market and helping to bring in a new era of more-accurate, noninvasive, and cost-efficient testing for complex genetic disease research.”
Roopom Banerjee, RainDance Technologies
“We welcome GE Ventures and Northgate as new investors,” said Roopom Banerjee, RainDance president and CEO. “GE brings an unparalleled global network of businesses and partners, and is a logical outgrowth of the work we have under way with industry and research leaders committed to making the world healthier. Our success bringing in strategic investors such as GE Ventures and Myriad Genetics demonstrates we are a trusted platform partner to large customers in advancing the understanding, detection, and monitoring of cancer and other important diseases.”
RainDance has raised more than $100 million from investors including Mohr Davidow Ventures, Quaker BioVentures, Alloy Ventures, Acadia Woods Partners, Sectoral Asset Management, Northgate Capital, and Capital Royalty Partners to support the development and commercial expansion of its leading technologies for digital PCR and next-generation targeted sequencing (NGS).
RainDance products generally feature an “open system” that leverages decades and billions of dollars already invested in PCR and NGS chemistries and innovations. The company’s ultra-sensitive genomic tools are leading to new noninvasive liquid biopsy applications for more accurate, reliable, cost-effective, and earlier detection of cancer, inherited diseases, and infectious diseases. Major research institutions and more than 70 leading translational, genetic, and commercial laboratories around the world rely on RainDance systems.
The RainDrop digital PCR system, which has 50x to 1000x the sensitivity of traditional quantitative PCR, enables researchers to analyze low-frequency alleles with true single-molecule detection capability.
Separately, RainDance’s ThunderStorm system enables commercial laboratory customers to develop their own proprietary next-generation sequencing panels for disease research.
Most recently, RainDance announced that it has developed the ThunderBolts cancer panel, a comprehensive NGS panel for profiling actionable cancer mutations. ThunderBolts enables researchers to rapidly and cost-effectively analyze precious biopsy specimens such as those contained in biobanks worldwide.
For more information, visit RainDance Technologies.
