Seattle startup Curi Bio Inc. has closed a $10 million Series A round, the company said Wednesday.
Curi Bio back in March announced it was raising a $6 million Series A, but ended up surpassing that as investors provided the startup with funds beyond what it originally asked for.
Investors UTC Investment and DS Asset Management joined Dynamk Capital, the original lead for the round, reaching $10 million total. To date, the startup has raised $21 million, including both dilutive and nondilutive funds.
“This funding validates the need for more predictive and mature human stem cell platforms to close the gap between preclinical results and clinical outcomes,” Curi Bio CEO Michael Cho said a March release announcing the first portion of the funding. Cho is a licensed patent attorney, and his background is in law and business management, according to his LinkedIn page.
The startup develops stem cell-based platforms for drug discovery using human cells, biosystems and data analysis. It aims to close the gap between the results of preclinical studies and what actually happens in a clinical setting.
Curi Bio plans to use the funding to grow its business and speed up development of its platforms, according to the release.
“Curi Bio’s technology platforms create significant value for pharma and biotech companies by accelerating discovery timelines and increasing the chances of success for new therapies in development,” Dynamk Capital Managing Partner Gustavo Mahler said in the release.
Mahler joined Curi Bio’s board following Dynamk Capital’s investment, according to the March news release. He joined Dynamk in 2019 after more than 10 years at Bothell biotech AGC Biologics, including as CEO from December 2015 to April 2019, according to his LinkedIn and Dynamk staff pages.
In October, Curi Bio partnered with Seoul-based stem cell technology company Nexel on a joint venture company called Celogics to develop and commercialize other stem cell products for drug discovery, safety testing and research. Celogics is also based in Seattle.
