SAN
DIEGO, July 11, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Element
Biosciences, Inc., developer of pioneering technologies to empower
science, today announced over $277
million in Series D investment to support its growing global
customer base with disruptive DNA sequencing and multi-omics
technologies for years to come. The oversubscribed round was led by
Wellington Management with participation from new and existing
investors, including Samsung Electronics, Fidelity, Foresite
Capital, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates,
Inc, and Venrock, among others. This brings Element's cumulative
raise to over $680 million.
"After years of watching Element's impressive progress from the
sidelines, we are excited to support the company's next chapter of
growth and development," said Joshua
Sommerfeld, healthcare sector lead at Wellington Management
Private Investing. "Their platform combines quality, cost, and
flexibility advantages that disrupt the incumbent price curve. By
bringing end-to-end integrated multi-omic workflows onto a single
system, Element has potential to accelerate biological
discovery."
"Molly and the team at Element are cementing their position in a
highly competitive environment," said Mr. Jong-Hee (JH) Han, Vice
Chairman and CEO at Samsung Electronics. "Their products set a new
industry standard and are foundational to the next wave of
biological innovation that will help researchers and businesses
around the globe deliver on the promises of precision medicine and
artificial intelligence. We are incredibly excited about Element's
vision to make precision medicine affordable and are impressed with
the team they built together."
This funding will further support the commercialization of
AVITI™, Element's benchtop DNA sequencer, and bolster the upcoming
launch of AVITI24™, the first instrument to combine
state-of-the-art sequencing and cyto-profiling (mapping cell
characteristics) into a single integrated biology platform. AVITI24
revolutionizes research by enabling simultaneous examination of
DNA, RNA, proteins, phosphoproteins, and cell structure within
single cells – empowering researchers to gain unparalleled insights
into biological systems with unprecedented ease.
"After a decade of an 800-pound gorilla dominating the
ecosystem, it has been a privilege to help the exceptional Element
team deliver customer-centric products that advance the quality,
affordability and democratization of genomic analysis," said
Bryan Roberts, Partner at Venrock
and an early investor in Element, alongside Jim Tananbaum at Foresite Capital.
"We cofounded Element based on a simple belief that cutting-edge
science should be available to the entire research
community. Element has taken the first step to democratize
sequencing and will continue helping the community uncover the
secrets of biology with high-quality, flexible, rapidly iterative,
and affordable tools that are accessible to more scientists." said
Molly He Ph.D., CEO, Element Biosciences. "Element has grown an
increasingly large, enthusiastic, and loyal customer base thanks to
our innovative products and a collaborative, tenacious team that
has remained committed to Element's mission. An oversubscribed
round against the backdrop of a challenging macroeconomic
environment is a testament to our mission. With the support of our
new and existing investors, Element is solidifying its future as
the next name-brand biological tools company – a true unicorn."
In the last 12 months, Element's install base of AVITI has grown
from approximately 40 units to more than 190. Element's customers
span a diverse set of industries including academia, biotech,
cancer research, and agricultural science in more than 25
countries, and its technologies are used by pioneering
organizations like Cerba Research, Cornell
University, Garvan Institute, Revvity, Stowers Institute,
VIB, and others.
The University of Minnesota Genomics
Center (UMGC), which installed its first AVITI in mid 2023, has
purchased four additional AVITIs over the past year. Dr.
Kenny Beckman, Director of the UMGC,
has been pleased with its performance. "The AVITI is simple to
operate, easy to integrate from a data perspective, and the quality
of the output is higher than with our legacy NGS instruments," said
Dr. Beckman. "The AVITI's scale is a great fit for our clients,
most of whom need both fast turnaround and low cost."
"Precision medicine's vast potential is being unlocked by
cutting-edge genomic and multiomic technologies. Element's
groundbreaking sequencing is driving significant advancements in
precision diagnostics research across critical disease areas," said
Thomas P. Slavin, Chief Scientific
Officer at HALO Precision Diagnostics, which installed four AVITI
sequencers over alternative high-throughput offerings from an NGS
competitor in 2023.
Reflecting on Element's journey, Molly added, "We simply
wouldn't have made it to this remarkable stage without the initial
pioneers and risk-takers who formed our earliest customer base.
Element is especially grateful for their support."
About Element Biosciences, Inc.
Element Biosciences is a pioneering life science company
democratizing access to advanced biological tools, driving
impactful discoveries to benefit humanity. We are focused on
developing disruptive DNA sequencing and multi-omics technology for
research markets. Through innovating every fundamental element of a
biological assay system, Element empowers customers with
affordable, high-quality data and an improved user experience,
which in turn will accelerate scientific discoveries. To learn more
about Element, please visit www.elementbiosciences.com and follow
us on LinkedIn, X (Twitter), and Facebook.
Media Contact
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SOURCE Element Biosciences