Rapid Micro Biosystems Raises $81M to Continue Global Expansion of Automated Pharmaceutical QC Platform to Improve Data Integrity and Safety in Biologics, Vaccines, and Cell & Gene Therapy Manufacturing
LOWELL, Mass., March 16, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc., the leading provider of data integrity and automation technology for microbial detection in biopharmaceutical manufacturing, today announced the completion of an $81 million equity financing.
The funding round was led by new investor D1 Capital Partners, along with funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Adage Capital Management, Sunley House Capital Management, and CaaS Capital Management. These new investors join an existing investor group that includes Bain Capital Life Sciences, Ally Bridge Group, Longitude Capital, Xeraya Capital, Endeavour Vision, Quaker Partners, and Asahi Kasei Medical.
Including this latest financing, Rapid Micro Biosystems has raised over $340 million of equity to fuel its expansion.
A majority of the global top-20 pharmaceutical companies use Rapid Micro Biosystem’s Growth Direct® System to automate their critical compendial microbial testing processes. The Growth Direct® System enables pharmaceutical companies to ensure robust data integrity and regulatory compliance, meaningfully decrease errors, and significantly increase efficiency of their global supply chains, thereby reducing the risk of catastrophic contamination events and product recalls.
Rapid Micro Biosystems has seen accelerating adoption of the Growth Direct® System by leading biopharmaceutical companies to expand drug and vaccine production by meeting stringent quality requirements and maximizing capacity in response to growing global demand.
“This new investment will enable continued acceleration of our company’s growth as we help global drug manufacturers significantly improve data integrity, reduce risk, accelerate decision making and improve the operational efficiency of their quality control processes,” said Robert Spignesi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rapid Micro Biosystems. “We are excited about the support of our new investors, who share our mission of improving the robustness and safety of the global pharmaceutical manufacturing ecosystem.”
“We believe that Rapid Micro Biosystems is modernizing microbial quality control, bringing much needed data integrity and automation to a critical function in drug manufacturing,” said James Rogers, Analyst at D1 Capital Partners. “The company is exceptionally well-positioned to address the fast-emerging class of cell and gene therapies, a category of personalized medicines which are manufactured in small batches with extensive material handling under intensive microbial quality control. As significant numbers of these highly advanced therapeutics come to market, leading pharmaceutical companies will rely on Rapid Micro Biosystems to enable the complex processes necessary to ensure these products are safe for patients.”
Rapid Micro Biosystems has seen significant global demand for its system as regulators push for more stringent quality and data integrity as volumes and manufacturing complexity of high-value drug production increase. The ongoing global health threat posed by infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, only serves to intensify the need for pharmaceutical companies and regulators to drive much needed investment in advanced technologies, such as those provided by Rapid Micro Biosystems.
J.P. Morgan Securities LLC served as sole placement agent to Rapid Micro Biosystems in connection with the transaction.
About Rapid Micro Biosystems
Rapid Micro Biosystems is the industry leader in automated detection of microbial contamination with innovative products for fast, accurate, and efficient detection of microbial contamination in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, biologics, biotechnology products, medical devices, and personal care products. The company’s Growth Direct® platform – the only growth-based platform to fully automate traditional microbial testing – detects contamination more quickly, delivering compelling economic benefits to manufacturers while improving their quality control (QC) process. The company is headquartered and has U.S. manufacturing in Lowell, Massachusetts, and global locations in Germany and the Netherlands. For more information visit www.rapidmicrobio.com. Follow RMB at @rapidmicrobio or LinkedIn.
About D1 Capital Partners
D1 Capital Partners is a global investment firm that operates across public and private markets. The firm combines the talent and operational excellence of a large, premier asset management firm with the flexible mandate and long-term time horizon of a family office. Founded in 2018 by Daniel Sundheim, D1 focuses on investing in the global internet, technology, telecom, media, consumer, healthcare, financial, industrial, and real estate sectors.
Contact for US and Global Media:
media@rapidmicrobio.com
