Stilla raises €20m in series B financing round

The round was led by existing investors Illumina Ventures, Kurma Partners, LBO France, Paris Saclay Seed Funds, BNP Paribas Développement and Idinvest. The Chinese TUS-Holding joined the round as a new investor.

Stilla Technologies markets digital PCR solutions, a global  market of €2bn that is predicted to be growing  by 40% between 2019 and 2023. Stilla Technologies has been providing research organizations specialized in molecular biology and genetic analysis with its Naica System, a ground-breaking digital PCR solution that enables scientists to quantify DNA mutations with unrivalled precision. The platform delivers high-precision genetic tests, in various fields of applications such as liquid biopsy tests for cancer diagnostics, pre-natal testing or GMO detection.

Currently the 2013 spin-out of Paris-based Ecole Polytechnique generates 75% of its sales abroad, a large part of which is in China. Stilla has distributors in China, Singapore, Japan and Korea. What separates dPCR from traditional quantitative PCR is the partitioning of a sample into thousands of individual reactions. The company has taken advantage of cutting-edge microfluidic innovations to create a dPCR system highly sensitive while easier to use. The Naica System is fast and automated, integrating droplet crystal formation and amplification into a single instrument and has three-color readout capabilities to enable multiplexing. The firm is also developing six-color capabilities for the system to further increase multiplexing. Lab technicians with limited PCR experience can become experts in digital PCR after just a day’s training. And labs using the Naica System generate results in just two and a half hours.