A Vancouver life sciences firm is printing loads of venture capital, as well as organic tissues.
Aspect Biosystems Ltd. has raised $115 million in a Series B financing, the company announced today.
The funding round is led by Dimension – a technology and life sciences investment firm -- with participation from Novo Nordisk A/S, Radical Ventures, InBC, Pallasite Ventures, Pangaea Ventures, Rhino Ventures, and T1D Fund.
As part of the recent financing, Nan Li, founder and managing partner at Dimension, has been appointed to Aspect’s board of directors.
“Aspect is an embodiment of the multi-disciplinary companies that we believe will define the next chapter of biotech,” Li said in a press release.
“The company brings together capabilities across tissue engineering, cell therapy, biomaterials, computer vision and robotics to deliver on the promise of regenerative medicine.”
The most recent funding follows on $73 million the company secured from the Canadian and B.C. governments last year, in partnership with collaboration with Novo Nordisk, to help fund a $200 million expansion plan.
That plan includes developing clinical biomanufacturing capabilities and a pipeline of therapeutics based on printed tissue. As part of its Life Sciences and Biomanufacturing Strategy, the B.C. government contributed $23.8 million towards the expansion, with Ottawa kicking in $49 million.
Spun out of the University of BC in 2013, Aspect Biosystems developed process for making specialized human tissues using microfluids, biomaterials and 3D printing. The tissues are tailored for treating a range of conditions, from liver disease to diabetes.
The recent Series B raise will be used to accelerate the company’s development of regenerative medicines targeting metabolic and endocrine diseases and expand its AI-driven bioprinting platform.
“I am incredibly proud of the progress our team is making on our mission to develop disease-modifying treatments for people living with serious diseases,” Aspect Biosystems founder and CEO Tamer Mohamed said in a statement.
Aspect Biosystems was named Company of the Year by Life Sciences BC last year, and in 2023 made Fast Company's Next Big Things in Tech list.
