Broken String Biosciences closes £12m for US expansion

Biotech company Broken String Biosciences is closing a $15m (£12.1m) in Series A investment to support its move into the US.

Cambridge-based Broken String Biosciences is developing a DNA mapping platform called INDUCE-seq for cell and gene therapies.

The company will use the funding to establish a US office and make new hires at its Wellcome Genome Campus in Cambridge.

It was co-founded by CEO Felix Dobbs, CSO Simon Reed, chair Simon Kerr and senior scientist Patrick van Eijk.

“Operating at the intersection of biology, bioinformatics and data science, our INDUCE-seq platform offers an unbiased, end-to-end solution that expedites the measurement and assessment of off-target gene editing during therapeutic development,” said Dobbs.

The Series A round was jointly led by Illumina Ventures and Mérieux Equity Partners.

Tencent and Dieter von Holtzbrinck Ventures supplied follow-up capital. Heran Partners also took part.

Yoann Bonnamour, investment manager at Mérieux Equity Partners, said: “The gene therapy market, and the essential off-target assessment technology alongside it, is a rapidly growing opportunity.”

Yoann Bonnamour from Mérieux Equity Partners and Illumina Ventures’ Arnaud Autret also join Broken String’s board of directors.

Cambridge is home to a cluster of biotechs, such as AI and quantum drug discovery startup Kuano, which this month raised £1.8m.