DNA Script Awarded $5.5M in Innovation Grants from the European Commission and Bpifrance — Total Financing to Date Is $24M

New grants will accelerate DNA Script’s commercialization of its
novel high speed, high efficiency, free-of-harsh-chemicals DNA synthesis
technology

PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–DNA Script today announced awards totaling $5.5M in non-dilutive
financing from the highly selective Horizon 2020 European Innovation
Council program of the European Commission and the Aide au
développement de l’innovation and Concours Mondial d’innovation
programs of Bpifrance. DNA Script was awarded this financing, to be
received as subsidies and refundable advances, based on the promise of
the company’s innovative enzymatic DNA synthesis technology and the
company’s potential to become a global leader in DNA and RNA
manufacturing.

As the field of genomics accelerates, innovative genome editing
technologies are driving advancements in life sciences research. The
market for synthetic nucleic acids has expanded to over $1 billion per
year globally, but the demand is not always met. For the past 50 years,
synthetic DNA has been manufactured through a complex chemical process
with limitations in terms of quality, turn-around time and manufacturing
flexibility. In contrast, DNA Script introduces a novel biochemical
process for DNA and RNA synthesis based on the use of highly efficient
enzymes. This technology mimics the way nature produces genetic code and
enables enhanced performance while minimizing the use of harsh chemicals.

“The team at DNA Script is extremely proud of this support from the
European institutions and the French government through Bpifrance, which
will aid in our goal of becoming a global leader in synthetic DNA
manufacturing”, said Thomas Ybert, PhD, CEO and co-founder of DNA
Script. “We are excited about recent breakthroughs we have made with our
technology platform, and these additional resources will allow us to
further accelerate the development of the company.”

“Through these funding packages, Bpifrance fulfills its mission of
helping young and promising companies like DNA Script develop their
technology in order to conquer new markets,” said Adeline Kempf from
Bpifrance. “We see in DNA Script a unique opportunity to create a new
European leader in the life sciences — proof that the excellence of
French research can be translated into commercial success.”

DNA Script is one of 57 companies to receive the very first award for
small and medium-sized businesses given by the recently established
European Innovation Council — a funding, advisory and networking arm of
Horizon 2020 intended to support leading innovators, entrepreneurs,
small companies and scientists with bright ideas and the ambition to
scale up internationally. Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU research and
innovation program ever created, with nearly €80 billion of funding
available over 7 years (2014–2020). DNA Script was chosen for this award
by a jury of innovators, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists after a
competitive review process.

To date, DNA Script has raised a total of $24M. In September 2017, DNA
Script announced Series A financing of $13 million led by Illumina
Ventures, with additional investments from M Ventures — the corporate
venture arm of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany — and existing investors
Sofinnova Partners, Kurma Partners and Idinvest Partners.

About DNA Script
Founded in 2014 in Paris, DNA Script is the
world’s leading company in manufacturing de novo synthetic
nucleic acids using an enzymatic technology. The company aims to
accelerate innovation in life sciences and technology through rapid,
affordable and high-quality DNA synthesis. DNA Script’s approach
leverages billions of years of natural evolution to enable genome-scale
synthesis. The company’s technology has the potential to greatly
accelerate the development of new therapeutics, sustainable chemical
production, improved crops and DNA data storage. www.dnascript.co

About Bpifrance
For information, please visit: www.bpifrance.fr

About Horizon 2020
For information, please visit: www.horizon2020.gouv.fr

Contacts

Press contact in the US
Seismic
Lisa Rodriguez
415-505-5447
[email protected]
or
Press
contacts in Europe
ALIZE RP
Caroline Carmagnol and
Tatiana Vieira
06 64 18 99 59 / 01 44 54 36 65
[email protected]
or
DNA
Script
Sylvain Gariel, COO
[email protected]