NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Synthetic biology firm Gen9 has raised $395,000 toward a $2 million round, the company said in a regulatory document filed Tuesday.
In its Form D filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm said that the funds raised were in the form of debt. Kevin Munnelly, its president and chief business officer, told GenomeWeb Daily News in an e-mail today that proceeds will be used to commercialize the company's products.
According to Gen9, it is building the first "fab" for synthetic biology, called BioFab, based on next-generation gene synthesis technologies.
"A small number of Gen9's current production tools generate sufficient DNA content to, in principal, replace the world's current annual output of synthetic genes," the company said on its website.
Munnelly added that participants in the raise include current investors — venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and private investment firm PBM Capital Group — and new investors.
Gen9 was founded by George Church, Joseph Jacobson, Drew Endy, and NimbleGen Systems Co-founder Franco Cerrina, who passed away in 2010.
According to an SEC document, the company raised $1.6 million in September.