faCellitate, a BASF spin-off, raises 3.7 million euros in first financing round
First product facilitates reliable and reproducible 3D cell cultivation
Mannheim-based life science startup faCellitate has successfully raised 3.7 million Euro in its closing of seed funding. On board are well-known investors such as SARSTEDT, HTGF, R3 Consulting, ROI Verwaltungsgesellschaft, ARVE Capital and Chemovator.
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The faCellitate team under the leadership of co-founder and CEO Simon Widmaier, develops polymeric surface coatings for plastic and glassware. Those enable multiple applications, such as 3-dimensional cell culture, cell and protein repellent surface environment or chemistry driven material surface modifications. The company´s first product, a 96-well-plate with a highly anti-adhesive surface coating, BIOFLOAT™, is ideal for the rapid and reliable production of 3D spheroids which are suitable as in vitro-model in fundamental research and drug development. These properties make it a premium product for 3D cell culture and give scientists a fast and highly reliable tool to drive their research.
The company is currently working on introducing further plate formats, launching new product lines based on its proprietary platform technology. The development of cross-selling opportunities building on the existing customer base will also further increase the value of the company.
The company was formed at Chemovator, the internal venture builder of BASF, and consequently spun-off end of 2021.
Dr. Simon Widmaier, CEO of faCellitate states: “We are stoked by the fact that faCellitate is attracting experienced investors participating in our journey, sharing our vision and giving us the opportunity to contribute to life science innovation. In addition to players from the Venture Capital world, SARSTEDT, a high caliber strategic investor, has joined the list of shareholders. With the money raised we can go full steam ahead and apply our technology platform to develop more high-end products needed in modern biotechnology labs.”
Timo Schretzmair, CFO of SARSTEDT, points out: “faCellitate’s team has already achieved initial success in delivering a unique coating technology with unparalleled proven product performance having the potential to unlock new pathways for research and science around the world – we at SARSTEDT are very enthusiastic to participate in faCellitate’s journey.”
Dr. Markus Bold, CEO of Chemovator, adds: "With faCellitate, we had the first technology-based idea that successfully passed our program. Development cycles in research are usually long and capital intensive. Therefore, I am proud that faCellitate managed to develop a concept into a product-driven startup in less than 3 years in our ecosystem."
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