Samsung Elec invests $175 million to become top shareholder in US genetics firm (updated)

Samsung Electronics Co

Wed 01:49

Adds Samsung Electronics' statement in paragraphs 3, 7-9
June 9 (Reuters) - Privately held Element Biosciences said on Tuesday it had raised funds, including $175 million from longtime investor Samsung Electronics 005930.KS, to expand  commercialisation of its genetic testing and research products.
The San Diego-based company did not disclose the total size of the upsized Series E funding round, or its valuation. It also did not name the other investors. 
Samsung said in a statement that the investment would make it the largest shareholder in Element and deepen strategic cooperation between the two firms.
Element said the financing would support commercialisation of its sequencing products, such as AVITI and VITARI, as well as the upcoming launches of AVITI Dx and AVITI24.
The AVITI sequencing system is benchtop gene-sequencing equipment that decodes DNA and RNA for applications including medical research, disease detection and drug development. 
In the gene-sequencing market, Illumina ILMN.O remains the dominant player, while Roche ROGC.S has been expanding its footprint through partnerships and investments in next-generation sequencing and molecular diagnostics.
Samsung said it plans to combine Element's DNA sequencing and multi-omics analysis technologies with its AI, medical device and digital health capabilities to pursue new business opportunities, including next-generation genetic diagnostics.
"Samsung Electronics' expertise in AI, medical devices and digital health, combined with Element's innovative genomics analysis technology, will create synergies for the future of personalized medicine," TM Roh, Samsung's co-CEO, said in a statement.
He added that Samsung would continue investing across a broad range of areas, from precision medical devices to digital health technologies.
Element said the funding would also help expand its international presence and support development of future products for research, drug development and diagnostic uses.
The financing is subject to regulatory approval.
The new financing follows Element's $277 million Series D round announced in July 2024.

 (Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru and Heekyong Yang in Seoul; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
 ((Padmanabhan.Ananthan@thomsonreuters.com;))