Purigen
Biosystems, Inc., a leading provider of next-generation technologies
for extracting, enriching, and quantifying nucleic acids from biological
samples, today announced the completion of a $26.4 million Series B
financing. The latest round of funding was led by Agilent Technologies
and included participation from new investor Cota Capital, along with
existing investors 5AM Ventures and Roche Venture Fund.
Purigen will use the proceeds from the financing to expand its
scientific and commercial operations, accelerate the launch of its core
isotachophoresis (ITP) sample preparation platform, and support the
development of new features for future applications. Purigen’s
proprietary technology allows for the automated extraction of DNA and
RNA with dramatically increased yields and improved purity from a wide
range of sample types, including cultured or sorted cells, fresh or
formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues, liquid biopsies, and
buccal swabs.
As part of the investment round, Purigen announced that Kevin Corcoran,
Vice President and General Manager at Agilent Technologies, will join
the company’s Board of Directors. “Agilent is continually looking to
invest in complementary technologies that will underlie tomorrow’s
breakthroughs in life sciences, diagnostics, and applied markets,” said
Corcoran. “We believe Purigen’s proprietary ITP platform offers key
advantages and will help to significantly improve sample yields and
their integrity.”
“Cota Capital invests in world-class management teams that are building
the businesses of the future,” said Bobby Yazdani, Founder and Managing
Partner at Cota Capital. “Purigen was a compelling investment due to its
proven leadership team and disruptive technology platform, and we look
forward to helping them position the company for long-term success.”
“Purigen is set to transform both the quality and yield of nucleic acids
obtained from valuable clinical genomics samples for analysis by
next-generation sequencing,” said Barney Saunders, PhD, CEO of Purigen.
“The new investments from Agilent and Cota are validation of Purigen’s
opportunities in the sample preparation market. The support from our
Board members will be invaluable as we begin the commercial rollout of
our first ITP-based products and enable scientists to maximize the
actionable information that can be extracted from their precious
samples.”
About Purigen Biosystems
Purigen Biosystems is redefining nucleic acid sample preparation with an
innovative platform based on the highly efficient isotachophoresis
technology invented by Juan Santiago, PhD, and his team at Stanford
University. Purigen’s automated benchtop instrumentation and
accompanying microfluidic chip purifies and quantitates nucleic acid
samples from a wide variety of sources, including minute or otherwise
challenging cancer samples. The purified DNA or RNA is then immediately
compatible with a wide range of downstream detection methods, including
next-generation sequencing, PCR, and other genomic tests. For more
information visit: www.purigenbio.com.
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