GDMC secures $21 million to expand advanced genetic therapies
The funding round was led by Asia private equity firm Celadon Partners, with participation from SEEDS Capital, NSG Ventures and WI Harper Group.
The Singapore-based company will use the funds to accelerate novel technology, with the aim of bringing down costs for partners advancing medicines through clinical trials and towards commercialization.
Michael Koeris, CEO and co-founder of GDMC, commented: “The process of manufacturing a genetic medicine is extremely intricate and demands a specialized and highly knowledgeable team to successfully bring it to fruition.
“We are grateful to our investors for their support in realizing our vision of democratizing the manufacturing of advanced genetic medicines while leveling the playing field for innovative companies and leaders in advanced therapies.
“With our recent funding, we aspire to cultivate stronger collaborations with more partners in the US and APAC region, working hand in hand to improve the state of healthcare and treatment for patients.”
Singapore provides a ‘compelling’ value proposition for customers in terms of talent pool and cutting-edge technologies, with GDMC ‘uniquely positioned’ in the genetic medicines supply chain, said Jonathan Su, managing director at Celadon Partners.
In addition, GDMC recently initiated construction on a 155,000 sq ft pre-clinical, clinical, and commercial facility supporting cell, gene, and nucleic acid therapies (CGNT).
The company claims to have already signed their first clients and is taking reservations for the clinical and commercial facilities expected to open in a staggered format from 2024 to 2027.
Its current focus is to manufacture advanced therapy modalities including customized mRNA, plasmid DNA, AAV and lentiviral vectors.
"Celadon Partners has made a number of investments in the biomanufacturing supply chain. We are big investors in supply chain transformation and specifically see an opportunity to transform the way the global supply chain serves the biotech industry. I am very excited about GDMC, especially given the increased manufacturing demand in Singapore from global biotech companies,” said Donald Tang, managing partner at Celadon Partners.
Next-gen genetic therapies is a fast-growing space with global potential, particularly in Singapore, with a growing pool of early-stage biotechs requiring resources and expertise to move into clinical development, Tan Kaixin, general manager of SEEDS Capital, added.
“GDMC will be a key ecosystem enabler in allowing Singapore to eventually grow a critical mass of startups producing genetic medicines and move towards personalized healthcare and precision medicine,” he said.
