London, February 8, 2021: LifeArc announced today a £10 million cornerstone investment in the funding cycle of Illumina Accelerator Cambridge. This is part of over £20 million in initial UK capital commitments Illumina has secured from a select group of investors.

The UK commitments will provide pound-for-pound match funding to every Illumina Accelerator Cambridge graduate that secures between £500,000 up to £4 million in qualified new capital, within one year of graduation.

The announcement was made as Illumina announced nine new genomics companies to join the global funding cycle of Illumina Accelerator in the US and UK. The global company creation engine, focused on partnering with entrepreneurs to build breakthrough genomics startups, invested in four companies for the second funding cycle of Illumina Accelerator Cambridge, UK and five companies for the twelfth funding cycle of Illumina Accelerator San Francisco Bay Area.

Illumina Accelerator provides the selected startups with access to seed investment, access to Illumina sequencing systems and reagents, as well as business guidance, genomics expertise, and fully operational lab space adjacent to Illumina’s campuses in Cambridge or the San Francisco Bay Area.

For further information, please see: Illumina Accelerator Invests in Nine Genomics Startups for Second Global Cycle

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Media contacts
Surinder Maan
Communications Manager
Direct: +44 (0)20 7391 2754
info@lifearc.org

 

 

Notes to editors

About LifeArc

LifeArc is a self-funded medical research charity. Our mission is to advance translation of early science into health care treatments or diagnostics that can be taken through to full development and made available to patients. We have been doing this for more than 25 years and our work has resulted in a diagnostic for antibiotic resistance and four licensed medicines.

Our success allows us to explore new approaches to stimulate and fund translation. We have our own drug discovery and diagnostics development facilities, supported by experts in technology transfer and intellectual property who also provide services to other organisations. Our model is built on collaboration, and we partner with a broad range of groups including medical research charities, research organisations, industry and academic scientists. We are motivated by patient need and scientific opportunity.

Two funds help us to invest in external projects for the benefit of patients: our Philanthropic Fund provides grants to support medical research projects focused on the translation of rare disease research and our Seed Fund is aimed at start-up companies focused on developing new therapeutics and biological modalities.

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About Illumina for Startups

Illumina for Startups is focused solely on creating an innovation ecosystem for the genomics industry by partnering with leading venture capital investors and entrepreneurs to create, launch, and grow genomics startups. Illumina for Startups initiatives include Illumina Accelerator, founded in 2014, and Sequoia Capital China Intelligent Healthcare Genomics Incubator, Powered by Illumina, launching Fall 2021. Illumina Accelerator is a company creation engine co-located with Illumina research and development sites in San Francisco Bay Area and Cambridge, UK. Illumina Accelerator has invested in 45 genomics startups from across the globe, which have collectively raised nearly $600 million in venture capital funding. For more information, visit www.illumina.com


About Illumina

Illumina is improving human health by unlocking the power of the genome. Our focus on innovation has established us as the global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical, and applied markets. Our products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture, and other emerging segments. To learn more, visit www.illumina.com and connect with us on TwitterFacebookLinkedInInstagram and YouTube.