SerImmune Inc. today announced an $8 million round of financing, led by Illumina Ventures, with participation from Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, through a subsidiary, and additional undisclosed investors. With the proceeds, SerImmune will expand its immune mapping technology platform and antibody repertoire database while building strategic partnerships.

"We are thrilled to be joined by Illumina Ventures and Merck whose participation reflects the strength and breadth of our differentiated technology and its applications in both the diagnostics and biopharmaceutical industries. By uncovering the many diverse antigenic targets of human antibody repertoires, we can develop highly multiplexed serological diagnostics and empower the identification of therapeutic and vaccine candidates," said Patrick Daugherty, CEO of SerImmune. "Our growing human antibody repertoire database provides a new capability to map antigens to a range of diseases and clinical phenotypes."

"SerImmune's unique technology leverages the power of Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) to decode the functioning of our highly complex immune system," said Nick Naclerio, Founding Partner of Illumina Ventures. "We believe that the platform will provide new insights into the antigens and environmental factors involved in human disease, enabling more sensitive and precise diagnostic tests, new vaccines, and more targeted biopharmaceuticals. This fits our strategy of investing in great teams that are pioneering new applications of NGS alongside other strong syndicate partners."

About SerImmune Inc.
SerImmune reveals the compositions of functional immune repertoires, creating new opportunities for therapeutic and diagnostic development. SerImmune maps the distinct antibodies within a repertoire to antigens associated with infections, allergens, microbiome organisms, autoimmune diseases, and cancers.

About Illumina Ventures
Illumina Ventures is an independently managed venture fund in a strategic partnership with Illumina. We invest primarily in early stage companies, in areas where our expertise and special relationship with Illumina can add value. We typically syndicate with other leading institutional and strategic investors. Focus areas include applications of genomics in life science research, healthcare, and personal wellness.