The PennZone

PHILADELPHIA - PennZone -- ExpressCells, Inc., a private genetic engineering company that creates knock-in cell lines to support biological research, today announced that it has completed an extension of its Series A financing round. The company raised $590,500 in this Series A2 round from both existing and new investors. This round was oversubscribed by 18%.

New investors in ExpressCells include the MIT Alumni Angels of Northern California, the Orange County Chapter of Tech Coast Angels, and the Berkeley Angel Network. Existing investors who also invested in this round include the Rowan Innovation Venture Fund, the Central Texas Angel Network, Robin Hood Ventures, and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania.

ExpressCells is using the $590,500 raised in this round to expand its operational infrastructure to support the increasing demand for its knock-in cell lines. The company also will increase promotion to the biological research community.

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"This funding allows ExpressCells to meet the rapidly-growing demand from both industry and academic customers. We are thankful to the new investors who have joined our Series A," said Matt Handel, co-founder and CEO of ExpressCells. "We also appreciate the additional funding from our existing investors."

Interest in this round of financing was driven, in part, by recent news events for ExpressCells. Pepperdine Graziadio Business School named ExpressCells to its 2020 Most Fundable Companies® List and ExpressCells was one of top three startups—and the top life sciences company—in the Pismo Venture's National Venture Plan Competition.

About ExpressCells

ExpressCells uses its proprietary genome editing technology, in combination with CRISPR/Cas9, to create advanced, knock-in cell lines to enhance drug discovery and other types of biological research. The speed of the process allows ExpressCells to insert one to three genes into the same cell line months faster than other technologies. The company currently has 17 customers and expects that number to grow.

ExpressCells sells both custom and catalog cell lines. For more information, visit xpresscells.com (http://www.xpresscells.com/).