Swedish startup raises €1.8m for gene activity research

Stockholm-based biotech firm Epigenica has raised €1.8m to support the development and commercialisation of its gene expression screening technology.

The company develops tools to study epigenetics – how environmental and lifestyle factors influence gene activity without altering the DNA sequence – for use in research, diagnostics and drug development.

The new investment will also support the company’s expansion into the US market.

Founded in 2020, Epigenica has created a platform called EpiFinder, which it says enables high-resolution, cost-effective analysis of multiple epigenetic markers – biological signals of gene activity changes – across large numbers of samples.

Epigenica chief executive Mohamad Takwa said: “Since Epigenica’s founding, we’ve refined our technology into a broad portfolio of products serving a diverse range of epigenetics applications.

“We anticipate a number of significant product launches in the coming year that will enable our customers to improve and expand their research.”

“I’m thrilled to welcome Voima Ventures, Navigare Ventures and Leksell Social Ventures, and proud of the ongoing confidence and trust expressed by our current shareholders.

“This funding is a strong validation of our scientific and commercial progress.”

Epigenica’s technology uses a method it calls high-throughput, multiplex, quantitative ChIP-seq (hmqChIP), which it claims allows scalable epigenomic profiling using various types of starting material by analysing how proteins interact with DNA to regulate gene activity.

The company offers products to support applications in oncology, pharmaceutical development and longevity research. Its platform is designed to generate actionable insights for biomarker discovery, multi-omics and next-generation sequencing.

The funding round was led by Nordic investor Voima Ventures, with participation from DeepTech specialist Navigare Ventures, social impact-focused Leksell Social Ventures and existing shareholder Almi Invest.

Stina Wallmark, Voima Ventures’ investment director, said: “The field of epigenetics, which studies how our lifestyle and environment impact the way our genes work, holds transformative potential in areas like oncology, longevity and drug development.

“Epigenica enables fast, scalable and affordable analysis of epigenetic biomarkers, helping researchers fully unlock the potential of multi-omics in the search for new diagnostics and therapies.”

Multi-omics refers to the combined analysis of biological molecules – such as RNA, proteins and metabolites – to create a fuller picture of biological systems.

Epigenetics adds an additional layer by showing how external factors influence gene regulation and activity.

The investment will accelerate the development of Epigenica’s flagship products, including the existing EpiFinder Genome and upcoming EpiFinder Global and EpiFinder cNUC kits.

It will also support the build-out of the company’s service offering and data infrastructure.