Cambridge Epigenetix, a University of Cambridge epigenetics sequencing startup, just closed out a $21 million Series B fundraise. The startup’s centered around developing a tool that can continuously measure human health by plumbing the epigenome.
Notably, it’s bringing on a new CEO- Geoff Smith, former site lead and vice president of product development at Illumina. Tom Hulme, a general partner at GV (formerly Google Ventures) is joining the board of directors.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
Cambridge Epigenetix was cofounded by Shankar Balasubramaniam, who previously cofounded Solexa – a next generation sequencing company from Cambridge, U.K. that was acquired by Illumina in 2007. Indeed, its technology provided the basis for much of the San Diego NGS giant’s successes today.
“CEGX is today ideally positioned to catalyze the market for epigenetics – just as Solexa and Illumina did for genomics a decade ago,” Smith said in a statement.
Cambridge Epigenetix has built a platform called ox-BS sequencing that distinguishes between two forms of the DNA base pair cytosine – an important tool for epigenetics that play a role in genes being switched on and off.
“We’ve seen how the commercialization of genome sequencing has created incredible opportunities to improve human health, and now the epigenome holds similar potential,” GV’s Hulme said in a statement. “Cambridge Epigenetix is one of the few teams on the planet with the skills and experience to break new ground here, and we look forward to supporting them on that journey.”
The Series B was led by Sequoia Capital, with with current investors New Science Ventures, Syncona Partners and Cambridge University joining the round.
