Camena Bioscience, a synthetic biology company providing genes to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, has closed a $10m Series A financing round, led by Mercia.
The new funding will be used to scale operations and continue development of its DNA synthesis platform, gSynth.
Camena Bioscience is the first company to offer the enzyme-based DNA synthesis technology. It has already signed commercial agreements with leading consumers of synthetic genes, securing a multi-million-pound revenue stream over the previous year.
Synthetic genes are widely used by researchers to understand the mechanisms of disease, and in the drug discovery process to combat them. However, the cost, time and accuracy of traditional DNA synthesis methods developed in the 1980s remains problematic, particularly when creating long or complex sequences of genes. Camena Bioscience’s technology overcomes these limitations by using a new enzymatic technology to accurately produce synthetic DNA.
Camena Bioscience’s CEO and co-founder is genomics researcher Steve Harvey. The CSO and co-founder is Derek Stemple, a molecular biologist and previously a co-founder of TwistDX that was acquired by Alere (now a part of Abbott) in 2010.
Harvey said: “We are delighted to have closed this latest round of funding with Mercia, which provides further validation of Camena’s approach. The ability to read, write and manipulate DNA is the foundation of the synthetic biology value chain, yet developments in DNA synthesis have not kept pace with DNA sequencing and editing capabilities. Camena’s gSynth platform is revolutionizing the DNA synthesis market by unlocking access to genes and accelerating discovery pipelines.
“As the focus on sustainability and supply-chain security become more acute, Camena is leading the way with a green synthesis technology and is already well positioned to serve this burgeoning market. The invention of next-generation DNA sequencing technologies transformed our ability to “read” DNA. Our goal is to enable our customers to “write” DNA with the same confidence and ease.”
Check out some of the other synthetic biology companies currently making a mark with their work here.