Molecular Assemblies Secures $12.2M Series A Funding to Advance Enzymatic DNA Synthesis Technology

On October 8, 2019, VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media reports that biotechnology company Molecular Assemblies (“Molecular”) announced the completion of a $12.2 million Series A financing round, led by iSelect Fund.

Following the completion of this funding round, Molecular will advance the commercialization of its enzymatic DNA synthesis technology and apply it to the life sciences sector.

In June 2018, Harvard University geneticist George Church and his colleagues published a study on enzymatic DNA synthesis technology, providing a detailed elaboration of the data information encoding and decoding processes. Two months later, the Molecular Assemblies research and development team also announced similar findings.

Molecular Assemblies, founded in 2013 and headquartered in San Diego, USA, is a biotechnology company. The company is dedicated to developing novel DNA synthesis technologies, driving advancements in precision medicine, DNA data storage, and nanotechnology. In addition to Molecular Assemblies, innovative companies in the synthetic biology sector, such as Nuclera, Evonetix, and DNA Script, are also researching and developing enzymatic DNA synthesis technologies.

Traditional DNA synthesis relies on chemical methods, in which researchers primarily construct DNA sequences by replicating the phosphoramidite derivatives of natural bases. However, DNA fragments produced using this method are limited in length to only 120 nucleotide bases, and the process is environmentally harmful.

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) is key to the development of enzymatic DNA synthesis technology, a template-independent DNA polymerase. In theory, enzymatic DNA synthesis outperforms chemical synthesis in both length and purity, and its development and commercialization will significantly advance the biotechnology sector. The international scientific journal Nature has stated that the momentum behind enzymatic DNA synthesis technology will continue to grow.

Molecular Assemblies’ patented enzymatic DNA synthesis technology enables the production of high-quality, highly effective synthetic DNA. The company currently plans to relocate to GradLabs, a new life sciences campus in San Diego. Spanning 98,000 square feet, the campus will provide the physical infrastructure needed for the further development of Molecular Assemblies’ enzymatic DNA synthesis technology.

Michael J. Kamdar, CEO of Molecular Assemblies, stated, “This financing round will attract more biotechnology talent and strengthen Molecular Assemblies’ research team. Furthermore, we expect to advance the commercialization of our products within the next two years.”

iSelect, founded in 2013 and headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, is an early-stage venture capital firm. The company primarily invests in the biotechnology and healthcare sectors, providing financial support to startups. To date, iSelect has made 44 investments.

(Compiled by Xu Xiaoxue)