Grail plans to raise money to develop cancer screening tests. They need to raise funds estimated at $1 billion in Series B financing. The company does not want to name any investors. They had only mentioned that the funding would come from strategic and private investors. Previous investors were Silicon Valley private equity company Sutter Hill Ventures, Arch Venture Partners, Google Ventures, Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon and Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft.
- Grail tries to raise funds to develop its cancer screening tests.
- They need substantial funds for the further development of their research.
- Illumina is a genetic sequencing company which once included Grail.
Grail detached from Illumina, a genetic sequencing company to focus on developing a blood-based cancer testing service. Illumina claimed that the launch of Grail’s new program would work with the help of Goldman Sachs which would guide other investors towards Grail for additional funding.
Grail currently uses the gene sequencing technique of Illumina to be able to spot any type of cancer which may occur in the body before the appearance of symptoms. Even if this technology which uses gene sequencing is not new, it was never implemented in the early-stage detection process. Grail needs financing to continue the development of cancer screening tests.
The company wants to achieve this goal for the study which was previously announced, known as the Circulating Cell-free Genome Atlas which is bound to examine about seven thousand cancer patients. Their goal is to compare them to other three thousand participants in the study which were declared to be healthy. They might compare their cases with other clinical trials too.
Most biotech equipment need more substantial funds in the early stages of the development process to have the sufficient resources to rise. Grail managed to raise approximately $100 million for its Series A. But if they were to have a billion dollars or even more at this point, they would be able to invest all the money in evolving into a spectacular project which would put them ahead many other companies working in the same field.
Illumina aims to offer Grail more space, eventually becoming the owner of at least 20% of the company and recalling members of the board of directors of Grail. Illumina also declared that Grail may be bound to become one of its customers in the future, due to offering future testing but also through the appreciation of Illumina in ownership.
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