SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TeraPore Technologies, the developer of advanced nanofiltration membrane systems for bioprocess and other applications, today announced that it has completed a $6M Series A financing round. The round was led by Anzu Partners and includes RA Capital Management and Artiman Ventures. Company counsel Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati also participated.
"We are delighted to have the continued leadership of Anzu Partners, and have RA Capital Management and Artiman Ventures join as investors in TeraPore," said Dr. Rachel Dorin, founder and CEO of TeraPore Technologies. "These firms bring immense value-added capabilities and support, and this infusion of capital will help accelerate our product development and commercialization, enabling us to serve industries where our technology is vitally needed."
TeraPore develops and manufactures filters with unprecedented performance through a proprietary and scalable block copolymer self-assembly technology. When fabricated into membranes, the polymers spontaneously form into highly uniform structures, creating precise holes (or pores) on the nanoscale. The benefits of these membranes include high permeability, allowing very high flow rates, and uniform pore sizes for highly precise nanofiltration. TeraPore's engineered membranes can also be produced at scale and at a range of different pore sizes - unique characteristics that are unprecedented in the field of nanofiltration.
One particularly critical application for TeraPore's technology is in the production process of biological drugs (or biologics) where a key step is the separation of viral contaminants from the drug material.
"We see the potential for TeraPore to solve critical manufacturing challenges and upgrade the quality of hundreds of biologics currently in clinical development for many diseases," said Dr. Peter Kolchinsky, veteran life sciences investor and Managing Director at RA Capital Management in Boston, MA. "Utilizing TeraPore nanofiltration could become a meaningful competitive differentiator for companies commercializing branded drugs, as well as biosimilars, and may even evolve to become a new standard for the industry."
"Today, seven out of the top 10 drugs sold globally are biologics, and the pipeline of new biologics is increasing rapidly," said Dr. Ajit Singh, Partner at Artiman Ventures in Palo Alto, CA. "In the manufacturing of these drugs, viral filtration is a must. TeraPore's solution provides a number of important advantages, and we are excited to help the company develop. We also see strong promise in other applications, such as water treatment, semiconductor processing, and responsive fabrics."
"TeraPore is a vibrant, female entrepreneur-led company that is pioneering a breakthrough technology," said David Michael, Managing Partner at Anzu Partners and TeraPore Technologies Board Member. "Dr. Dorin and her team have assembled some of the world's leading experts in block copolymer materials, membrane fabrication, and bioprocess filtration. We are excited to continue supporting this company."
TeraPore Technologies was founded in 2013 as a spinout of Cornell University, and has received support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). TeraPore's Advisory Board includes veterans of the membrane and bioprocess industries, including Dr. Neil Schauer, Dr. Mark Hurwitz, and Martin Siwak. Dr. Mark Plavsic, one of the world's leading experts on viral clearance in bioprocess, is a member of TeraPore's Board of Directors.
On intellectual property matters, TeraPore is represented by the law firm Blank Rome.
For more information, please visit http://teraporetech.com.
About TeraPore Technologies
TeraPore Technologies develops high-permeability, high-resolution membrane nanofiltration systems for bioprocessing and other applications. Its mission is to solve the most challenging bioseparations problems. For more information, please visit http://teraporetech.com.
About Anzu Partners
Anzu Partners is a venture capital and private equity firm that invests in breakthrough industrial technologies. We team with entrepreneurs to develop and commercialize technological innovations by providing capital and deep expertise in business development, market positioning, global connectivity, and operations. For more information, please visit https://anzupartners.com.
About RA Capital Management
RA Capital Management® ("RA Capital") is a multi-stage investment manager dedicated to evidence-based investing in public and private healthcare and life science companies that are developing drugs, medical devices, and diagnostics. The flexibility of its strategy allows RA Capital® to provide seed funding to startups and to lead private, IPO, and follow-on financings for its portfolio companies, both facilitating the crossover process and allowing management teams to drive value creation with fewer capital concerns from inception through commercialization. For more information, please visit https://www.racap.com.
About Artiman Ventures
Artiman is an early stage sector agnostic venture fund with offices in Silicon Valley and Bangalore. We are seeking to invest in entrepreneurs building white space companies that have the potential to create or disrupt multi-billion markets. As former entrepreneurs, we bring empathy, curiosity, passion, experience, and (occasionally) patience to the table. As investors, we bring capital plus access to a network that reflects the diversity of the firm and our portfolio. Artiman was founded in 2001 and has over $1 billion under management. For more information, please visit http://www.artiman.com.
CONTACT
Rob Haralson for TeraPore Technologies
rhh@anzupartners.com, (202) 251-3322
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SOURCE Anzu Partners
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