The funding will be used towards product development, team expansion and research and development
CrisprBits, one of the first Indian companies using CRISPR, a breakthrough gene-editing technology, has raised $250,000 in Pre-seed funding from US-based VJ Group. The funding will be used towards product development, team expansion and research and development.
The company plans to extend its CRISPR-based diagnostics platform to point-of-care detection of pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes associated with hospital-acquired infections. CRISPR is used by bacteria to protect themselves from invading viruses and in the past few years, scientists have harnessed the power of CRISPR to develop therapeutics as well as other biotechnological products in the domains of human, plant and microbial bio-engineering.
Sunil Arora, Co-Founder and CEO, CrisprBits, added, “The new investment will accelerate our next phase of growth and allow us to develop many more high-quality healthcare solutions in diagnostics and gene editing”
Vijay Alreja, Founder and CEO, VJ Group, said, “The potential of CRISPR technology is truly incredible, and we are excited to support CrisprBits harnessing this technology to develop high quality yet affordable and accessible solutions to improve human health. Our team is thrilled to embark upon this journey with a high-calibre leadership and scientific team at CrisprBits to leverage an innovative and groundbreaking CRISPR technology for human well-being. We look forward to working together to commercialise the products that are in the pipeline as well as develop new products. We strongly believe that this collaboration will lead to synergistic outcomes.”
Dr Vijay Chandru, Co-Founder and CSO, said, “At CrisprBits, we are using the latest in CRISPR gene editing technology to bring high-quality life sciences solutions to all Indians. With the recent publication of our manuscript on OmiCrisp, a CRISPR-based test for SARS-CoV2, we are demonstrating our commitment to infectious disease surveillance and one health. Through our upcoming ‘PATHCRISP’ point of care platform, we are making these solutions accessible to all. Beyond diagnostics, we will also explore new therapeutic strategies in gene editing for oncology, cardio-vascular applications, and even industrial biotechnology applications.”
