Akadeum Life Sciences announced the closing of an oversubscribed $17.5 million Series B financing round led by Arboretum Ventures, marking a significant milestone for the Ann Arbor-based company's proprietary microbubble-based separation technology. The funding round included participation from Beringea, Agilent Technologies, Lifespan Ventures, BlueStone Venture Partners, Berkeley Catalyst Fund, Michigan Capital Network, Michigan Rise, The University of Michigan, and other investors.
Revolutionary Microbubble Technology Platform
Akadeum's next-generation platform addresses long-standing challenges in biological separation processes by using proprietary microbubble-based technology to float target cells, nucleic acids, and other biological targets to the top of samples. This innovative approach solves critical problems including volume and throughput restrictions that have limited existing separation technologies, enabling the capture of virtually any biological entity.
The company's solutions demonstrate superior performance, system cost advantages, and enhanced scalability compared to current market technologies. Akadeum was the first to commercialize Buoyancy Activated Cell Sorting (BACS™) microbubble kits specifically designed for cell isolation applications.
Strategic Investment and Leadership
Dan Kidle, Managing Partner at Arboretum Ventures, has joined Akadeum's board of directors as part of the investment agreement. "We are very pleased to join as investors in Akadeum and see strong potential for their proprietary microbubble-based technology to deliver significant advances in science and strong commercial growth in the years ahead," Kidle stated.
Brandon H. McNaughton, PhD, Akadeum's President and CEO, emphasized the funding's strategic importance: "This funding brings new momentum to our effort to deploy our technology platform to empower new scientific discoveries, improve diagnostic sensitivity, and increase access to novel cell therapies. The success of this financing is another indication of the growing interest in the applications of the Akadeum platform technology."
Commercialization and Market Applications
The Series B proceeds will advance global commercialization efforts for Akadeum's platform across multiple high-value applications spanning life science research, cell therapy, and diagnostics markets. The company plans to expand business-to-business partnerships while investing in R&D and new product development initiatives.
Akadeum's floatation-based target isolation platform technology addresses fundamental sample preparation challenges across research, diagnostics, and cell therapy markets. The separation of biological targets including DNA, proteins, and cells from biological samples represents a critical step that enables many diagnostic and therapeutic applications.
Market Disruption Potential
The company's platform technology is positioned to disrupt the broader separation market, extending from nucleic acid extraction to cell isolation applications. Without effective separation capabilities for isolating biological targets from samples, many current diagnostics and therapies would not be feasible, highlighting the fundamental importance of Akadeum's technological advancement.
The oversubscribed nature of the financing round reflects growing investor confidence in the commercial potential of microbubble-based separation technology and its applications across multiple life science sectors.
