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Richmond-based GPB Scientific announces $25.5 million financing
April 22, 2020
Financing to drive development and commercialization of innovative cell & gene therapy processing solution
VISTA, Calif. and RICHMOND, Va. — GPB Scientific, Inc., a developer of breakthrough technologies for therapeutic cell production and bioprocessing, today announced a $25.5 million funding commitment. The financing is led by Vensana Capital alongside strategic investor Amgen Ventures with ongoing participation by existing investors.
GPB Scientific previewed its Curate Cell Processing System in January at the Phacilitate World Leaders / Stem Cell Summit, where it attracted high interest for its exceptional performance. The Curate system utilizes its proprietary microfluidic deterministic lateral displacement technology in an easy-to-use closed system that has demonstrated the ability to deliver high yield and quality to process CAR-T, stem, and other cells with the throughput and scalability required for cell and gene therapies.
“Vensana Capital looks to support entrepreneurs with medical technology products that can be scaled to have significant impact on healthcare. GPB’s Curate system can dramatically reduce the overall manufacturing cost, therapeutic yield losses, and process time for producing life-saving cell therapies for cancer and other diseases,” said Justin Klein, M.D., co-founder and managing partner at Vensana Capital. “The enhanced cell quality and higher yield not only address current cell therapy manufacturing cost and challenges but also have the potential to enhance the therapeutic benefits for patients. With investment from our inaugural fund we will help GPB drive the clinical assessment, GMP production, and commercialization of the Curate system.”
“The Curate system is poised to be transformative for cell and gene therapies,” said Philip Tagari, Amgen Vice President, Therapeutic Discovery. “As the industry works to implement reliable, efficient and cost-effective systems for the global deployment of these breakthrough medical treatments, GPB has devised an elegant yet powerful solution for cell separation, washing and concentration. The broad potential of this innovation aligns with Amgen’s mission to partner with innovators in the fight against serious illness.”
“We are grateful for the support and confidence that Vensana and Amgen Ventures have placed in GPB Scientific for the continued development and commercialization of our Curate system,” said Mike Grisham, CEO of GBP Scientific. “Our company was founded with a commitment to apply the groundbreaking microfluidic technology we have developed to get people better, and the strength of this $25.5 million financing will ensure we achieve that goal.”
About GBP Scientific
GPB Scientific is a pioneering biomedical company working with leading research institutes and universities to develop breakthrough technologies to get people better. GPB Scientific’s Curate Cell Processing System applies microfluidic deterministic lateral displacement in advanced biocompatible cartridges and an easy to use robust, closed fluid path instrumentation system to consolidate multiple processing steps to reduce processing time and provide enhanced cell recovery gently and without cell damage.
About Vensana Capital
Vensana Capital is a venture capital and growth equity investment firm dedicated to partnering with entrepreneurs who seek to transform healthcare with breakthrough innovations in medical technology. Launched in 2019, Vensana is actively investing in late development and commercial stage companies across the medtech sector, including medical devices, diagnostics, drug delivery, digital health, and tech-enabled services. Vensana’s investment team has a history of successfully partnering with management teams behind industry-leading companies including Cameron Health, CardiAQ, Cartiva, CV Ingenuity, Epix Therapeutics, Lutonix, Neuwave Medical, Sequent Medical, Topera, Ulthera, and VertiFlex.
About Amgen Ventures
Established in 2004 as Amgen’s corporate venture capital arm, Amgen Ventures identifies and invests in emerging companies and technologies to advance promising new medicines and solutions to healthcare’s biggest challenges. Amgen Ventures has committed $625M to invest in biotechs focused on human therapeutics and drug discovery as well as MedTech, such as digital health platforms, data analytics, and value-based approaches.
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