Pandorum Technology, a biotechnology startup focused on tissue engineering has raised Rs 21 crore in its Series A funding round from the likes of early backers Binny Bansal, Indian Angel Network and other high net-worth individuals (HNIs).
The Bengaluru-based startup has received Rs 7.9 crore of the Rs 21 crore raise, reports paper.vc citing regulatory filings. The remaining amount seems to come in tranches. Meanwhile, the company has not answered the queries sent by Entrackr till the publication of the report.
Earlier, Flipkart founders had invested about Rs 2 crore in the startup in 2016. The firm had also secured grants from the government funding agency Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, which makes for a longer process than securing equity funding.
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Incubated at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms Bengaluru Bio-Cluster, Pandorum was founded by Arun Chandru and Tuhin Bhowmick. It claims to have made India’s first artificial human liver tissue with the help of 3D printing technology.
Started in 2011, the Pandorum team had developed its flagship product in 2015 that can be used in medical research for drug metabolism and disease modelling. That makes it a useful tool in the discovery of novel drugs with better efficacy and substantially reduced time and money.
The artificial tissue developed by Pandorum performs critical functions of a human liver tissue including detoxification, metabolism, and secretion of biochemicals such as albumin and cholesterol.
The firm aims to make personalised human organs such as lungs, liver, kidney, and pancreas on demand.
Earlier, this year the co-founders of Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart had incorporated Sabin Advisors, which will be focused on venture capital funding and insurance.
So far, Sachin and Binny invested in several startups including Inshorts, Ather Energy, Unacademy and the now-shut SpoonJoy in their personal capacity. Besides joint investment with Sachin in the aforementioned startups, Binny has seeded fashion portal Roposo and gaming company MadRatGames.
Sachin has invested in seven ventures with a total funding of $26 million, while Binny Bansal has invested in 17, with a total funding of $32 million.
