Lowell, Mass., and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
A Massachusetts based company, Rapid Micro Biosystems, Inc. (“Company”) today announced the completion of a USD120 million financing, that brought a Series C equity investment led by Hong Kong-based Ally Bridge Group, together with Swiss-based Endeavour Vision that adds to an existing investor base which has Xeraya Capital (“Xeraya”) alongside other US-based large investors that includes Bain Capital Life Sciences, Longitude Capital, Quaker Partners and Asahi Kasei Medical. Xeraya also participated in the new Series C financing round together with the aforementioned existing investors, and welcomes the new investors. This new investment follows Xeraya’s initial investment into the Company as a co-lead investor in the Series B financing in 2018.
Even before the current pandemic situation, Rapid Micro Biosystems has seen growing adoption of its fully-automated microbial detection platform, Growth Direct™, by leading biopharmaceutical companies to accelerate drug and vaccine production, meet stringent quality requirements, and maximize capacity to meet growing global demand.
The Company’s Growth Direct platform automates the majority of standard microbial QC tests, replacing the time and labour-intensive manual QC processes and delivering results in half the time. Fully automated microbial contaminant testing can be performed with minimal human handling and remote system monitoring and data reporting capabilities to ensure manufacturing continuity at a time when QC labs must remain fully operational, despite reduced staff due to COVID-19 restrictions.
A majority of the top 20 industry players have already adopted Growth Direct. The company anticipates accelerating global demand for its system as regulators push for more stringent quality and traceability, and as volumes of high-value drug production increase, especially so in a pandemic situation that requires the ability to compress timelines and ensure bioprocessing sterility for state-of the-art manufacturing and for complex new therapeutic modalities, as well as ensuring the delivery of safe medicines for patients.
“We are very pleased to have strong and continuing support from our investors including our series B co-lead investor Xeraya whose continued partnership will be crucial to execute on our Asia expansion plans,” said Robert Spignesi, Chief Executive Officer of Rapid Micro Biosystems. “Global demand for drugs and vaccines is growing rapidly, a trend further amplified by the current pandemic. In response, manufacturers of biologics, sterile injectables, vaccines and cell and gene therapies are turning to the Growth Direct platform to modernise their manufacturing operations, improve their processes and make faster decisions.”
According to Fares Zahir, CEO of Xeraya Capital, “Xeraya is enthused to see the Company enter commercialisation into the global market at such speed since our initial investment. We see ourselves as a long-term partner to the Company and have been supportive of their outsourcing program in Malaysia, and we look forward to heighten the collaboration even further with the closing of this new funding round.”
About Rapid Micro Biosystems
Rapid Micro Biosystems is the industry leader in automated detection of microbial contamination with innovative products for fast, accurate, and efficient detection of microbial contamination in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, biologics, biotechnology products, medical devices, and personal care products. The company’s Growth Direct™ platform – the first and only growth-based platform to fully automate traditional microbial testing – detects contamination more quickly, delivering compelling economic benefits to manufacturers while improving their quality control (QC) process. The company is headquartered and has U.S. manufacturing in Lowell, Massachusetts, and global locations in Germany and the Netherlands. For more information visit www.rapidmicrobio.com.
About Xeraya Capital
Xeraya Capital is a venture capital / private equity group operating out of Kuala Lumpur and Boston investing with the sole objective of the betterment of humanity. At Xeraya, all of our activities, expertise, and resources focus solely on the Life Sciences sector. We look to generate superior investment returns by cultivating value over the long-term. We collaborate with and nurture our portfolio companies. We ensure that every investment we make not only delivers financial returns but brings benefits to humanity, including Malaysia and our surrounding region. Our website can be found at www.xeraya.com.
