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Codexis, Casdin Capital Invest $10M in Molecular Assemblies

NEW YORK – Codexis and Casdin Capital said on Thursday that they have invested a combined $10 million in enzymatic DNA synthesis company Molecular Assemblies.

Codexis invested $7 million, a spokesperson said in an email, while Casdin separately contributed $3 million. Codexis said the deal makes it the second-largest shareholder in Molecular Assemblies.

The investments are enabled through Codexis and Casdin's SynBio Innovation Accelerator, which the firms launched in December 2020, and are part of Molecular Assemblies' ongoing Series B financing round.

"Molecular Assemblies is a pioneer in the field of enzymatic DNA synthesis and this additional investment in the company underscores our belief in our groundbreaking collaboration to enable the cost-effective production of synthetic DNA," Codexis CEO John Nicols said in a statement. "Substantial enzyme improvements have been needed to unlock the potential of enzymatic DNA synthesis, and I am proud to share that these are on track to be achieved shortly."

San Diego-based Molecular Assemblies extended its Series A financing by $11.8 million in April after initially announcing it had raised $12.2 million.

Last year, Molecular Assemblies partnered with Codexis to improve its DNA synthesis method with Codexis' CodeEvolver protein engineering platform.

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