Series Funding to support expansion of DNA Synthesis Technology

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, which will be used to scale operations and continue development of its DNA synthesis platform, gSynth™ .

Traditional methods used to produce synthetic genes, developed in the 1980’s can be problematic, particularly when creating long or complex sequences of genes. Camena’s technology overcomes these limitations by using a wholly novel enzymatic technology in production of synthetic DNA.

The company is led by co-founders CEO Steve Harvey, PhD, a leader in genomics research and CSO Derek Stemple, PhD, a world-renowned molecular biologist and  previously a co-founder of TwistDX which was acquired by Alere in 2010.

Steve 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."

As the focus on sustainability and supply-chain security become more acute, he added that the company was 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.”

The company has already signed commercial agreements with leading consumers of synthetic genes, securing a multi-million-pound revenue stream over the previous year.

Camena also announcd two key appointments to its Board; Lee Lindley, a member of Mercia’s investment team, who has nearly 10 years of corporate financing experience. He also holds a BA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge and a Masters in Research Methods from the University of Manchester; and Aditya Rajagopal the founder and CTO of ChromaCode, Inc, a commercial stage diagnostics company focused on developing highly scalable and affordable cancer tests. He is also the co-founder and Executive Chairman of Esperto Medical, a venture-backed company building non-invasive vital sign monitors.

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