NEW YORK (GenomeWeb) – Shanghai-based biotechnology company Realbio Technology announced that it has raised RMB 40 million ($5.9 million) in a pre-A Series financing round.
Realbio, which was founded in 2014, uses high-throughput DNA sequencing technology to conduct microbiome studies and test clinical samples. It specializes in the enrichment and analysis of genes and microbiomes in fecal specimens. In an email to GenomeWeb, a company spokesman said Realbio uses Illumina platforms, mainly the HiSeq and MiSeq, to conduct its studies.
The firm has research centers in Shanghai, Jinan, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou, and is split into three business units: Realgene for research services, Realmed for clinical services, and Realagro for agricultural services. The company has provided services to, and has cooperation agreements with, several institutions across China, such as Tsinghua University, Peking University, the PLA General Hospital, and the Institute of Microbiology Chinese Academy of Sciences, among others, the spokesman added.
The pre-Series A financing comes from Shenzhen-based Green Pine Capital Partners, Hangzhou-based Bioclub, and Beijing-based Tianheyongxin Investment. "The financing will be mainly used to recruit talents and build a new clinical laboratory in Shanghai with state-of-the-art facilitates to accommodate expansion of our operation in China," said Realbio CEO Nan Qin in a statement.
The company spokesman also told GenomeWeb that this is the first financing the company has raised since it was founded.