Company has multiple microbial solutions under development for production livestock, equine and companion species.

May 29, 2020

2 Min Read
Ascus Biosciences closes $46m in funding
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With $46 million secured in its Series B fund-raise, Ascus Biosciences announced it is positioned to continue expanding its customer sales and servicing teams, advance new and existing products in its product pipeline and continue refining its core technology platform and intellectual property foundation.

Ascus said it has multiple microbial solutions in development, with some already in sales mode for dairy, poultry, beef feedlot, equine and companion species.

“Securing this level of funding will help bring Ascus technology to farmers and pet owners seeking newer, safer and more effective microbial solutions at a much larger scale as we continue to grow our sales and customer services footprint in the U.S. and the world,” said Ascus chief executive officer Michael Seely. “With this financing round, we are now well-equipped to expand and serve our existing and prospective customers while we continue to progress the breakthrough products currently in our research and development pipeline.”

The funding was led by global investment company Temasek, with participation from other leading investors, Anterra Capital, Formation 8 and Cavallo Ventures (the venture capital arm of Wilbur-Ellis), and additional support from various angel investors.

“Animals are an increasingly large part of our economy and food supply, yet the majority of the existing feed additives are at least 50 years old,” said Jim Kim, founder and general partner, Formation 8. “Using modern science as a way to better understand animal health and nutrition is both better for the world's food supply and works in harmony with animal welfare.”

Ascus said it uses a proprietary technology platform to resolve the complexities in the native microbial communities living in highly productive and healthy animals. From these curated insights, efficacious native microorganisms are selected and isolated from animal samples and developed into products. These novel, multi-strain and naturally occurring whole microbe products are shelf stabilized and compatible with standard in-feed delivery systems, the company explained.

Headquartered in San Diego, Cal., Ascus maintains multiple field, sales and production operations around the globe.

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