Metabolon Lands $72 Million in New Financing

Morrisville-based precision health company Metabolon has just closed the books on $72 million in new combined debt and equity financing.

The company said the funding will be used to speed growth and expand its client base, in addition to strengthening its machine learning R&D programs targeted at biomarker discovery and its precision medicine platform.

Perceptive Advisors, which invests in promising healthcare technologies, joined EW Healthcare Partners and other current investors in this most recent round of financing. EW Healthcare is one of the oldest and largest private healthcare investment firms. 

“We are thrilled by this strong show of support from Perceptive Advisors and our current investors,” said Rohan (Ro) Hastie, Metabolon’s president and CEO.

The company also announced the appointment of Robert A. Cascella as an independent member of Metabolon’s board of directors. Cascella is chief business leader, precision diagnostics and executive vice president of Phillips.

Metabolon, founded in 2000, is a global leader in metabolomics. That’s the study of cell metabolism to understand how genes, the microbiome (the genetic material of all microbes), diet, and lifestyle affect people’s health. The company provides metabolomics solutions from discovery through clinical trials and product life-cycle management.

Metabolon has close to 200 employees, nearly 40 of whom have Ph.D. degrees from a diversity of backgrounds. A decade ago, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center helped support the company’s growth with two years of funding for an on-site industrial intern.