ReadCoor, a Cambridge-based startup focused on omics and pathology, announced $27 million in Series B funding for the commercial launch of its 3D RNA, DNA and protein spatial sequencing platform.
The funding round was led by new investor Pavilion Capital, along with existing investors Decheng Capital and Hansörg Wyss.
Founded in 2016, ReadCoor’s proprietary product is a 3D multi-omic spatial sequencing platform called Fluorescent in situ Sequencing (FISSEQ). FISSEQ was developed in the Church Lab at Harvard University and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and was first published in Science in 2014.
ReadCoor's FISSEQ platform provides the exact locations of molecular targets as well as a 3D image plotting the coordinates within the sequenced sample. This technology enables the unprecedented merging of imaging and sequencing within one product, and provides researchers with data that can be used in diagnostics, pathogen identification and drug discovery, among other uses.
The funding will be used to advance the commercialization of ReadCoor’s FISSEQ technology. Researchers will be able to purchase a platform comprised of an instrument, kits and data analysis cloudware. The initial commercial platform can be applied to research in oncology, neuroscience and infectious disease.
“The development of true spatial sequencing is currently burdened by technical challenges, including the need for specialized imaging hardware, laborious protocols, and unsupported analysis software,” Richard Terry, Founder, President and CEO of ReadCoor said in a press release.
“To overcome these challenges and integrate these methods, we created an all-in-one solution with unparalleled capacity for true multi-omic spatial sequencing with high-resolution 3D imaging, robust data collection and analysis.”
