Novo Holdings, a leading international life science investor, has led a USD118 million Series C financing in new portfolio company Genomatica, which harnesses biology to remake everyday products and materials with a reduced environmental impact.
The funding will be used to accelerate the global commercialisation and expansion of Genomatica’s sustainable materials, with the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 100 million tons per year.
Genomatica will use the investment to scale production for its portfolio of products and continue investing in new technologies to amplify the impact of sustainable materials across a range of industries. Genomatica replaces widely-used chemicals and materials, traditionally derived from petroleum fossil fuels, with plant-based alternatives that are cost-competitive, equivalent in performance and can reduce environmental impact by up to 93 per cent compared to fossil fuel-based production. These molecularly identical replacements can be used in a wide range of products including clothing, cosmetics, packaging and carpets.
Anders Bendsen Spohr, Senior Partner at Novo Holdings, says: “Novo Holdings is committed to support the development of sustainable and renewable materials. Sustainability is a must-have for consumers and is a business imperative for brands. We see a massive opportunity for biological manufacturing to help industries meet the demand for sustainable products. Genomatica is creating more sustainable value chains with both a breadth of partnerships and products that it is executing on at commercial scales that can deliver the kinds of impact that today’s climate crisis requires.”
“We are very pleased to welcome Novo Holdings, a world class investor which has long been a champion of the bioeconomy, to Genomatica. Leading a widespread transition to sustainable materials is what drives us at Genomatica,” says Christophe Schilling, Chief Executive Officer of Genomatica. “We’ve grown intentionally by proving the scalability of our products, fostering strategic partnerships with leading brands and manufacturers, and laying the foundation to remake supply chains. We are increasingly powering the shift to more sustainable products that consumers and investors want – and humanity needs.”
Kartik Dharmadhikari, Partner at Novo Growth, says: “We are very pleased to support Genomatica, which is aiming to transform how materials are sourced and produced, enabling transparent, traceable, and responsible supply chains, that drive both positive social and environmental impact. Genomatica’s technologies are being used to build sustainable manufacturing capacity worldwide which will enable the delivery of sustainable and renewable solutions across multiple sectors on a commercial scale.”
There is increasing consumer demand for sustainable products. A recent survey from Genomatica found that the majority of US consumers (86 per cent) believe sustainability is a good goal, and over half (52 per cent) make choices to be more sustainable.
