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TOKYO, May 19, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ThinkCyte, Inc., a company focusing on the development of novel cell therapy, drug discovery and diagnostic platforms, announced today the completion of a $26 million (JPY 2.85 billion) Series B financing, led by SPARX Group with participation from Sysmex Corporation and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Investment as well as existing investors, SBI Group and Itochu Technology Ventures. The company has raised a total of $45 million (JPY 4.9 billion) to date.
"We are excited to welcome new investors, Sysmex and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Investment, and to have continued support from existing investors to transform the future of therapeutics and diagnostics," said Waichiro Katsuda, ThinkCyte's co-founder and CEO. "With this financing, we are well positioned to accelerate the development and promotion of our proprietary image-based cell sorting system globally. In addition, we are extremely grateful to initiate a joint development project with Sysmex, the global leader in hematology, to deliver an innovative AI-based cell diagnostic technology to the market."
ThinkCyte's novel Ghost Cytometry technology uses a combination of proprietary advanced optics, microfluidics, and machine-learning techniques to realize high-throughput single cell analysis and sorting using image based information. It is of use in a variety of research, therapeutic, and diagnostic applications, such as identifying and extracting cells with higher therapeutic values from unlabeled cell populations for cell production in cell therapy, or detecting abnormal cancerous cells from bloods in clinical diagnostics. Ghost Cytometry is able to use image information from cells with no physical labels to distinguish different cell states, cell types, and cell qualities including cell-cycle phases, glycolytic levels, and apoptotic status.
Proceeds from the financing will be used to accelerate the development of its proprietary image-based cell analysis and sorting system for cell therapy, clinical diagnostics, and drug discovery, as well as further business expansion and growth in the global market.
About ThinkCyte, Inc.
ThinkCyte, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a biotechnology company which develops innovative life science research, diagnostics, and treatments using integrated multidisciplinary technologies, and was founded in 2016. The company focuses on the research and development of drug discovery, cell therapy, and diagnostic platforms using its proprietary image-based high-throughput cell sorting technology, Ghost Cytometry. In June 2019, the company was selected for J-Startup by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan. For more information, please visit our website (https://thinkcyte.com).
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