VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AbCellera announced today that it has closed its Series A financing led by DCVC Bio, a Silicon Valley venture capital fund focused on deep technology ventures that lie at the nexus of artificial intelligence and biotechnology. AbCellera will use the USD $10 million financing to accelerate the growth of their therapeutic antibody discovery business, including investments to build capacity and integration of advanced technological capabilities spanning computation, protein engineering, and immune repertoire profiling.
“With this financing, we will double-down on our partnership business that has enjoyed profitable, triple-digit growth over the past 3 years. In DCVC Bio, we have found the ideal funding partner to help us accelerate the success of our full-stack antibody discovery engine, one that integrates artificial intelligence with industry-leading microfluidic screening technology,” said Carl Hansen, CEO of AbCellera.
AbCellera’s high-throughput single B cell screening platform and repertoire sequencing technologies enable discovery of large multidimensional data sets of valuable antibody sequences. AbCellera applies machine learning algorithms and custom data visualization tools to optimize lead selection, accelerate discovery, and unlock previously inaccessible targets, for a wide range of therapeutic modalities.
In connection with the investment, John Hamer, Managing Partner at DCVC Bio, has joined AbCellera’s Board of Directors, along with AbCellera Co-Founder Véronique Lecault. Doug Janzen will be stepping down from his role as Chairman of the Board.
“Carl and his team have built the kind of company we love to back. They continue to drive internal innovation and attract top quality partners from across the industry. Their disruptive discovery engine has empowered top-tier biotechs, helping them to move their programs more quickly towards the clinic, and has succeeded against some of the most challenging therapeutic targets faced by global pharma. AbCellera’s fresh and cross-disciplinary approach exemplifies the computationally advantaged platforms we seek,” said DCVC Bio Managing Partner Dr. John Hamer.
“We are pleased to bring John Hamer and Véronique Lecault onto AbCellera’s Board,” said Hansen. “John brings a rare combination of deep scientific expertise, operational experience, and financial connections. Véronique has been instrumental in our successful growth thanks to her abilities and judgment on both scientific and business fronts. I would also like to express our sincere gratitude to exiting director Doug Janzen for his five years of good counsel and leadership.”
AbCellera was founded in 2012 based on microfluidic single-cell technology developed at the University of British Columbia. This is the first institutional round of capital for AbCellera, which has been self-financed to date through over thirty discovery partnerships, including deals with top global pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology firms.
About AbCellera Biologics Inc.
AbCellera is a privately held company that engages in partnerships to discover and develop next-generation therapeutic antibodies. AbCellera’s single-cell platform integrates end-to-end capabilities for therapeutic antibody discovery through a unique combination of technologies including proprietary immunizations, microfluidics, high-throughput imaging, genomics, deep computation, artificial intelligence, and laboratory automation. Ultra-deep screening of single B cells allows unprecedented access to natural immune responses, enabling rapid isolation of large and diverse panels of high-quality lead antibodies from any species, including humans. www.abcellera.com
Find a complete list of news announcements on AbCellera’s online news feed, on LinkedIn and on Twitter @AbCelleraBio.
About DCVCBio
DCVC Bio is a computationally focused life sciences venture capital fund within DCVC (Data Collective), a leading Silicon Valley AI and deep tech venture capital fund. DCVC Bio invests in creative entrepreneurs building computationally advantaged life science companies with discovery and development technology platforms that can dramatically accelerate life science product discovery within healthcare, food and agriculture.
