Malaysia biotech startup Biogenes raises $5.7m in Series A funding round, to expand in PH
Pautan
Biogenes Technologies Sdn Bhd (Biogenes), a Malaysian Research and Development (R&D) startup commercializing healthcare diagnostics using aptamers (synthetic antibodies), recently announced securing $5.7m during a Series A funding round from Pembangunan Ekuiti Sdn Bhd (PESB), a Malaysian Venture Capital Management Corporation registered with Securities Commission Malaysia.
This funding will help Biogenes to expand their proprietary technology platforms across Southeast Asia, including the Philippines. To date, Biogenes has signed 2 collaboration agreements enabling its entry into the Philippine and Indonesian markets in 2023.
“We are extremely happy to have secured the support and confidence from PESB, a Malaysian-based Venture Capital firm, in expanding our company operations and revenue generation capability,” said Tang KM, co-founder and CEO of Biogenes. “With this support, Biogenes will invest into a medical-grade manufacturing facility, advancing our technology portfolio and expanding our sales outreach to the Southeast Asia region as well as other parts of the world,” he added.
Founded in 2015, Biogenes has grown its key technologies platform in digital biotechnology, in silico design of synthetic antibodies (known as ‘aptamer’) and rapid point-of-care diagnostic solutions in infectious diseases and cancer biomarkers screening.
On top of the $5.7m seed fund, Biogenes will also receive an approved National Technology and Innovation Sandbox (NTIS) 3 project grant worth RMS.5 million (around $1.2m), of which RM3.3 million will be provided by Malaysian Technology Development Corporation (MTDC). The grant will be utilized to progress towards scaling up production.
“We target to have the capacity to produce 10 million test kits per year and in parallel to usher in the new age of aptamer-based diagnostic solutions. Aptamer diagnostics will disrupt the current antibody diagnostics by enabling lower-cost, stable and more accurate diagnostic solutions,” said Tang KM.
“PESB is constantly looking to invest into innovative companies in the Biotechnology field,” said Shekh Jamaluddin, Executive Director of PESB. Gaining the confidence of its investors, he added, “We strongly believe that Biogenes is disrupting a large market and we want to support their vision for growth towards potentially entering unicorn status.”
Since its founding, Biogenes has also received tremendous support from key government agencies such as Platcom Ventures, Cradle, MTDC. The Ministry Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI), and Bioeconomy Corporation.
In 2020, Biogenes received a seed investment from Antler, a global venture firm, making Biogenes their first investment in Malaysia.
“It takes the support of two communities to believe in the potential of what we can achieve,” according to Jussi Salovaara, co-founder & managing partner of Antler. “As such, we are really thankful that Malaysia has a great ecosystem for promising startups like Biogenes,” added Salovaara.
