Adarza BioSystems Raises $25M Series D

The round was co-led by 3�-5 Partners, based in Portland, Ore., and St. Louis-based Lightchain Capital, LLC, the family office of Scottrade founder Rodger Riney.

Adarza plans to use the funds to support full commercialization of ZIVA, its automated biological testing platform for academic and clinical research. Scheduled for commercial launch in June, the ZIVA platform will allow researchers to quickly identify inflammation, cardiovascular, and oncology protein biomarkers for disease profiling and drug development.

"Other testing platforms fall short," said 3�-5 Partners Managing Director Joe Biller. "Because of its speed, automation, and simplicity, we see immense opportunity with Adarza's technology, particularly when it comes to drug development and personalized medicine."

Adarza's technology includes a bench-top instrument and a portfolio of multiplexed assays that can assess hundreds of protein biomarkers simultaneously from a single biological sample, like tissue or blood, according to Bryan Witherbee, Adarza's president and CEO. Using proprietary methods to create arrays of biologically active molecules on silicon chips, an endless number of targets can be detected in a single test, including antibodies, nucleic acids, peptides, and whole viruses/bacteria.

St. Louis-based biotech company Wugen is already using the ZIVA platform as it develops gene-editing technologies to develop cell therapies for cancer treatment.

"Adarza's ZIVA immunoassays are enabling us to follow more biomarkers, helping us speed up our ability to develop allogeneic CAR-T therapies," said John McKearn, Ph.D., CEO of Wugen.

With today's Series D funding, Adarza has raised a total of $54 million.

Earlier round investors in Adarza include BioGenerator, RiverVest Venture Partners, Cultivation Capital, and Lewis & Clark Ventures.

With the Series D close, Adarza is adding two new board members: Drew Dennison, managing director for St. Louis-based Lightchain, and Joe Biller, 3�-5 Partners managing director.

Adarza is also in the process of expanding its team to support commercialization efforts in 2020.

About Adarza BioSystems, Inc.

Adarza is a leading developer and manufacturer of label-free biosensor assays and instruments servicing life science research, drug development and, in-vitro diagnostics customers. Adarza's platform is capable of rapidly identifying and quantifying a series of biological target analyte species in a fluid sample, without chemical labels or complex processing. Adarza's technology offers key performance benefits in speed, ease of use, large screening arrays, and custom assays as well as industry-standard expectations for sensitivity, sample size, and dynamic range. Adarza products address broad quantitative analyte detection applications, including cancer biomarkers, drug and vaccine development, allergy, immunology, and infectious diseases research. For more information, visit www.adarzabio.com or @AdarzaBio.

About 3�-5 Partners

3�-5 Partners is a growth-oriented venture capital firm. 3�-5 "invests in what the world needs." We partner with, and invest in, passionate entrepreneurs pioneering innovative and impactful solutions in the life science and natural resource sectors. Founded in 2011 in Portland, Oregon, the 3�-5 team has a track record of delivering proven returns for its investors and a reputation of being a patient and trusted partner to its portfolio companies. To learn more, please visit www.3x5Partners.com.

About Lightchain Capital

Lightchain Capital, the family office for Scottrade Founder and former Chief Executive Officer Rodger Riney, makes strategic venture capital investments in the life science and technology sectors.