5. Eikon Therapeutics: $517.8 million (Biopharma)
Drug discovery and development firm Eikon Therapeutics aims to better understand biochemical regulation using proprietary platforms that can examine protein interactions in living cells.To do so, the Hayward, California-based company said it is combining advanced imaging tools, high-performance computing, molecular and cell biology, medicinal chemistry and robotics.
The company was started in 2019 based on super-resolution microscopy by co-founders Eric Betzig — whose work in the field won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014 — Xavier Darzacq, Luke Lavis and Robert Tjian.
“Through the integration of advanced engineering and high-performance computing, alongside more traditional molecular biology and medicinal chemistry, Eikon is developing a battery of innovative tools for biological exploration,” Eikon CEO and Chair Dr. Roger Perlmutter said when announcing the Series B round. “With the support of our investors, we continue to make dramatic progress in the industrialization of our live-cell imaging platform. We will use the resources of this new financing to progress more quickly toward our mission of inventing innovative medicines that will improve and extend life.”