SAN CARLOS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Helix, a personal genomics company that has created the first online store for DNA-powered products, today announced the final close of a $200 million Series B financing with Temasek. This follows the announcement earlier this year of DFJ leading the round with participation from all its founding investors which include Illumina, Warburg Pincus, Sutter Hill Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, and Mayo Clinic. Helix will use this financing to continue to accelerate consumer adoption of genomics via the expansion of its trusted marketplace. The marketplace features a growing list of world-class partners, all committed to developing innovative health, wellness, and ancestry-focused products powered by Next Generation Sequencing.
Unlike other personal genomics companies that require a separate DNA sample for each product they provide, Helix collects and sequences a DNA sample once, and then securely stores and protects a customer’s data so they can access additional DNA-powered products and services from the Helix store without providing another saliva sample. Today, the Helix store includes 35 products from 20 partners and that number will grow to over 50 products in 2018 with major launches including health products from partners like Mayo Clinic and Perkin Elmer. Each product is evaluated by the Helix scientific team and must meet the requirements of the company’s Scientific Evidence Evaluation (SEE) process, which evaluates the underlying scientific content and claims of each partner product.
“Temasek was the perfect partner for us to continue our growth into the rapidly expanding consumer genomics market both here in the United States and as we look to expand internationally in the coming years,” said Robin Thurston, CEO at Helix. “Their focus on investing in companies that truly want to change the world was perfectly aligned with our mission at Helix. This investment further advances our goal to continue to bring accurate health products to the market with partners like Mayo Clinic.”
Helix operates one of the world’s largest CLIA-and-CAP-accredited Next Generation Sequencing laboratories. Powered by Illumina technologies, Helix uses its proprietary Exome+ assay to sequence each customer’s 20,000 protein-coding genes as well as additional information-rich areas identified by Helix’s scientific team. This yields 100 times more data than microarrays commonly used by other consumer-focused companies. To ensure customer privacy and protection, each partner can only access the window of information relevant to their product ensuring the consumer has total control of their DNA.
About Helix
Helix is a personal genomics company with a simple but powerful mission: to empower every person to improve their life through DNA. We’ve created the first marketplace for DNA-powered products where people can explore diverse and uniquely personalized products developed by high-quality partners. Helix handles sample collection, DNA sequencing, and secure data storage so that our partners can integrate DNA insights into products across a range of categories, including ancestry, health wellness and entertainment. From profound insights to just-for-fun discoveries, Helix is here to help people live a fuller life. Helix is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, has an office in Denver, Colorado and operates a CLIA- and CAP-accredited next-generation sequencing lab in San Diego powered by Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) NGS technology. Helix was created in 2015 with founding support from Illumina, its largest shareholder. Learn more at www.helix.com.
About Temasek
Incorporated in 1974, Temasek is a global investment company headquartered in Singapore. Supported by its network of international offices, Temasek owns a US$197 billion portfolio as at 31 March 2017, with significant exposure to Singapore and the rest of Asia. Our investment activities are guided by four investment themes and the long term trends they represent: Transforming Economies; Growing Middle Income Populations; Deepening Comparative Advantages; and Emerging Champions. Our investment strategy allows us to capture opportunities across the sectors in which we invest that help bring about a better, smarter and more connected world. We actively seek sustainable solutions to address present and future challenges. Across the three pillars of the Temasek Charter, we recognise the need to do well as an investor; to do right as an institution; and to do good as a steward. For more information on Temasek, please visit www.temasek.com.sg.
