This article has been updated to correct the total funding raised by DNA Script to date.
NEW YORK – Nucleic acid manufacturing technology firm DNA Script said on Tuesday that it has raised $165 million in Series C financing.
Coatue Management and Catalio Capital Management led the round, joined by new investors Fidelity Management and Research, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, Arrowmark Partners, Farallon Capital, and Moore Strategic Ventures. Existing investors Casdin Capital, LSP, Illumina Ventures, Bpifrance Large Venture, Danaher Life Sciences, Agilent Technologies, M Ventures, Kurma Partners, and Alexandria Ventures Investments also participated.
The French company has now raised a total of $280 million. In a statement, DNA Script said it will use the new funding to commercialize its Syntax benchtop DNA synthesis platform, accelerate the expansion of its applications, and broaden the portfolio of products that use its enzymatic DNA synthesis technology.
"As we have seen with the success of COVID mRNA vaccines, we believe the next wave of life sciences will be an engineering and technology-based approach. We think DNA Script has changed the landscape with Syntax by replacing chemical processes with a plug-and-play technology that custom prints DNA on your lab bench," Aaron Weiner, managing director and head of healthcare at Coatue Management, said in a statement. "We believe DNA printers have the potential to become as ubiquitous as sequencers and microscopes."
In 2018, DNA Script raised $38.5 million in Series B financing, led by LSP and Bpifrance. The year before, it raised €11 million ($12.3 million) in a Series A financing round. The firm also won $5.5 million in grant funding.
DNA Script noted it is looking to expand its workforce by adding more than 100 employees.