NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Synthetic biology firm Intrexon today announced the close of its Series E round of financing, which raised $100 million and brings the total capital raised by the company in its history to more than $259 million.
Proceeds will be used for working capital and for the expansion of the company's UltraVector platform, the underlying architecture and construction methodology for Intrexon's complex transgenes, the company said. The platform is "the backbone" of its work in human healthcare, animal science, agricultural biotechnology, and industrial products.
The majority of the investment in the round was made by new investors. Existing ones, including Randal Kirk, Intrexon's chairman and CEO, and Third Security also participated. Perella Weinberg Partners was Intrexon's exclusive financial advisor and placement agent.
"Given the vast scope of applications that are amenable to biological synthesis, Intrexon's unparalleled ability to produce gene programs for the control of cellular function, and our scalability, I believe that Intrexon today represents one of the most exciting endeavors in all of life sciences," Kirk said in a statement.
In documents filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission last month, the company disclosed it had raised $66.9 million. It is unclear whether those funds were part of the round announced today.
In January 2010, Intrexon announced it had raised $25 million in equity financing.