Curiox Biosystems Closes $15 million Funding Round to Expedite Worldwide Adoption of Next-Generation Cell Prep Technology
Financing demonstrates the value of Laminar Wash technology in accelerating and standardizing therapeutic research and development
WOBURN, Mass., March 16, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Curiox Biosystems, Inc., the global leader in biological sample preparation automation, announced today the completion of a $15 million (17.1 billion won) Series C financing round. Luha Private Equity led the deal, joined by other existing investors KB Investment Co., Ltd and Quad Investment Management Corp., all major players in the Korean venture capital market. Curiox commercializes Laminar Wash™ technology, a methodology that transforms manual cell preparation into an efficient and standardized workflow, enabling next-generation life science research and product development. Funds from the investment will enable the company to expand its global operations and advance new solutions to ensure accurate analysis of cells in their native state.
At the heart of the technology are Laminar Wash systems, which combine novel “wall-less” plate design with automated fluidics that gently and reproducibly prepares cells for high-content analysis methods, such as single-cell sequencing ‘omics and flow cytometry. Major biopharmaceutical multinationals, cutting-edge biotech companies, as well as prominent academic labs are quickly adopting Laminar Wash technology to replace conventional centrifugation-based cell washing methods. Integrating Laminar Wash systems in their workflows enables teams to scale high-throughput analysis through automation, improve workflows and productivity, consume fewer reagents and sample volumes, and retain precious and rare cells for analysis that otherwise would be lost by harsh pelleting and stress.
Curiox’s unique position to address multiple pain points in cell sample preparation excited investors. Laminar Wash technology has propelled Curiox sales growth by 168% since 2019, demonstrating the life science market’s perceived value in upgrading sample preparation methodology. . “Curiox Biosystems is a company with the status of a ‘first mover’ in the field of cell sample prep automation,” said Lee Jong-hoon, CEO of Luha Private Equity. “Thanks to this, I came to the conclusion that the superiority of the device was sufficiently verified while seeing the upward trend in sales.”
The impact of bringing scaling and automation solutions to sample preparation in the rapidly growing cell and gene therapy market was recently recognized by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Flow Cytometry Standards Consortium. Together with Curiox scientists, the Consortium is testing the ability of Curiox’s AUTO1000 system, a fully automated flow cytometry staining workstation, to facilitate and improve cell analysis for these exciting therapies.*
“As living cells are directly related to the diagnosis and resolution of a patient’s disease, scientists recognize the importance of maintaining native biological function during the cell sample prep process,” said Curiox CEO Namyong Kim, Ph.D. “As we are seeing the market respond with enthusiasm to our offerings, we will, in turn, expand aggressively.”
To keep pace with the goal of realizing a doubling of sales every year, funds from this investment round will be used to reinforce commercial operation as well as production capacity. Curiox has set in motion a plan to mass-produce more than 1,000 cell washing systems per year within three years. Investors were also intrigued by Curiox’s imminent plans to launch a new cell preparation product line complimenting Laminar Wash technology. The novel technology promises to further expand the company’s application space and market share. CEO Kim estimates the global market for cell preparation instrumentation and workflow to be worth $5B.
To learn more, visit the Curiox website.
About Curiox Biosystems, Inc.
Next-generation therapies deserve next-generation sample prep solutions. Curiox has brought together surface chemistry and instrumentation expertise to overcome critical challenges slowing the pace of life-science research. By focusing on common assay steps and workflows where miniaturization and automation are currently underutilized, the company has developed innovative technologies that simultaneously improve both productivity and data quality, accelerating the pace of therapeutic development.
*NIST does not evaluate commercial products under this Consortium and does not endorse any product or service used.
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SOURCE Curiox Biosystems
