As a Plano biotech company looks to expand this year, it’s taking on new funding.
Allied BioScience, which focuses on novel antimicrobial coatings designed to reduce infection and illness across public spaces, announced Kansas-based private equity firm Capital7 made an early-stage investment in the company’s Series C funding.
“The investment firm seeks true partnerships, and we look forward to having their collaboration as we move forward with national approval of SurfaceWise2 and add additional products to our portfolio to help reduce the global burden of infectious disease,” said Allied CEO Michael Ruley in a statement.
The company declined to disclose the amount of the investment. It adds to a Series B-1 funding round it received last April from Plano- and Florida-based investment firm Lydia Partners. While terms of that deal weren’t disclosed either, Allied had previously filed with the SEC that it was looking to raise $6.25 million. The company has raised a total of $80 million since launching in 2005.
The new funding from Capital7, which says it invests in companies with an EBITDA between $2 million and $12 million, comes as Allied looks to expand its markets. The company already has an Australian office and has been seeing demand in places like Canada, Germany, India, and the UAE. A spokesperson said it has already entered into partnership agreements with global distributors.
In the U.S., Allied has seen success with its core SurfaceWise2 antimicrobial product, which in August received a public health exemption waiver from the EPA for its use to fight COVID-19. Earlier this year, the waiver was extended beyond Texas to Oklahoma and Arkansas. Allied said the new funding would help it expand its product line beyond its flagship surface coatings.
“These products have not yet been released, but Allied BioScience is expecting to share updates later this year,” the spokesperson said in an email.
This year, the company is looking to expand its team, as well. Allied said it aims to double its 50-person team, hiring more than 100 people across all departments. It currently has four Plano-based positions listed on its website, including sales and R&D. One of its most recent personnel moves was naming its Chief Marketing Officer Jess Hilton as its new chief communications officer and senior VP of government affairs.
Allied recently relocated its Plano offices to a new 28,000 square-foot space at the One Legacy Circle building to accommodate that growth. The company is also working to finalize the new location of its R&D labs within the city.
The company said it is anticipating nationwide EPA approval for SurfaceWise2 shortly.
“(That) will make the groundbreaking surface coating sanitizer available to industries such as mass transportation, healthcare, education services, military and government, among others,” the spokesperson said. “It is clear the pandemic has caused business across the globe to spend billions of dollars in both momentary disinfectants and employee labor.”
