Purigen Biosystems Raises $26.4M Series B

Purigen Biosystems, Inc., a leading provider of next-generation technologies for extracting, enriching, and quantifying nucleic acids from biological samples, today announced the completion of a $26.4 million Series B financing. The latest round of funding was led by Agilent Technologies and included participation from new investor Cota Capital, along with existing investors 5AM Ventures and Roche Venture Fund.

Purigen will use the proceeds from the financing to expand its scientific and commercial operations, accelerate the launch of its core isotachophoresis (ITP) sample preparation platform, and support the development of new features for future applications. Purigen's proprietary technology allows for the automated extraction of DNA and RNA with dramatically increased yields and improved purity from a wide range of sample types, including cultured or sorted cells, fresh or formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues, liquid biopsies, and buccal swabs.

As part of the investment round, Purigen announced that Kevin Corcoran, Vice President and General Manager at Agilent Technologies, will join the company's Board of Directors. "Agilent is continually looking to invest in complementary technologies that will underlie tomorrow's breakthroughs in life sciences, diagnostics, and applied markets," said Corcoran. "We believe Purigen's proprietary ITP platform offers key advantages and will help to significantly improve sample yields and their integrity."

"Cota Capital invests in world-class management teams that are building the businesses of the future," said Bobby Yazdani, Founder and Managing Partner at Cota Capital. "Purigen was a compelling investment due to its proven leadership team and disruptive technology platform, and we look forward to helping them position the company for long-term success."

"Purigen is set to transform both the quality and yield of nucleic acids obtained from valuable clinical genomics samples for analysis by next-generation sequencing," said Barney Saunders, PhD, CEO of Purigen. "The new investments from Agilent and Cota are validation of Purigen's opportunities in the sample preparation market. The support from our Board members will be invaluable as we begin the commercial rollout of our first ITP-based products and enable scientists to maximize the actionable information that can be extracted from their precious samples."

About Purigen Biosystems

Purigen Biosystems is redefining nucleic acid sample preparation with an innovative platform based on the highly efficient isotachophoresis technology invented by Juan Santiago, PhD, and his team at Stanford University. Purigen's automated benchtop instrumentation and accompanying microfluidic chip purifies and quantitates nucleic acid samples from a wide variety of sources, including minute or otherwise challenging cancer samples. The purified DNA or RNA is then immediately compatible with a wide range of downstream detection methods, including next-generation sequencing, PCR, and other genomic tests. For more information visit: www.purigenbio.com.