The story has been updated to provide additional details and comments from Adaptive Biotechnologies' CEO, Chad Robins.
NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Immune sequencing services company Adaptive Biotechnologies has raised $5 million toward a targeted $20 million financing round.
In a Form D filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission recently, it said that the securities offered were in the form of equity. Adaptive Bio's CEO Chad Robins told GenomeWeb Daily News that that the $5 million was the first tranche of a Series C round.
Proceeds will go toward further development of the company's clonoSeq assay for measuring and monitoring minimal residual disease in blood-based cancers; the expansion of the company's business around its immunoSeq assay; and the development of a new platform "for more rational drug design," Robins said.
Another $3 million on the Series C round is expected to close next week, he added, and the remaining $12 million is anticipated to close in "the next couple of months."
An individual was the investor in the $5 million tranche, though Robins declined to identify the person.
Adaptive Bio's flagship technology is the immunoSeq assay. Using high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics technology, ImmunoSeq provides an in-depth analysis of the T-cell receptor repertoire. Applications for the technology include diagnostic testing, therapeutic monitoring, and drug discovery, according to Adaptive Bio's website.
Late last month, it and Biogen Idec announced a deal aimed at autoimmune disease biomarkers. In May, it said it signed a collaborative deal with Bristol-Myers Squibb for the use of ImmunoSeq to discover immunological biomarkers in cancer.
Adaptive Bio has raised $15 million since its inception, Robins said.