Complete Genomics bags $45M round for sequencing

Complete Genomics has snared a $45 million round to finance development of new, and radically cheaper, sequencing services.  The Mountain View, CA-based biotech believes it has the technology in place to hatchet down the price of entire human gene sequencing to the bargain basement rate of $5,000. And it's boldly predicted that it will soon be able to turn around the sequencing data in just days.

New investors Essex Woodlands Health Ventures and OrbiMed Advisors led the Series D round, with Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, OVP Venture Partners, Prospect Venture Partners and Highland Capital Management coming back to reinvest.  

"This new capital will enable us to scale up our facilities in preparation for large customer projects," said CEO Dr. Clifford Reid. "We now plan to launch our large-scale commercial sequencing center in January 2010 with the goal of sequencing 10,000 human genomes next year."

A group of companies and individuals have been racing to bring low-cost sequencing to the world. And a number have designed their business model to appeal to developers looking to customize treatments [1] to genetically tailored groups of patients.

- check out the press release [2]

ALSO: ProFibrix--a biotech based in The Netherlands with a subsidiary in Seattle--has closed on an $11 million Series B investment. The financing round was led by new investor Gilde Healthcare Partners, a European life sciences investor, which joined Index Ventures in the round. Release [3]

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Complete Genomics plots $5,000 DNA scanning [1]
Start-up to offer genome sequencing at bargain rate [4]
Top Venture Capital Firms [5]