Sequential Skin raises $1.65m in new funding round

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
Oct 11, 2021

UK/Singapore biotech start-up Sequential Skin has raised $1.65 million (£1.2 million) in an oversubscribed seed round “to revolutionise the future of skin health”, its founders said Monday. This latest investment brings the total venture funding raised to $2.15 million in 2021, it noted.

Sequential Skin’s test-based platform combines molecular science, genetics and microbiome research. It uses “deep molecular analysis and next-generation sequencing technology to understand the combined impact of an individual's genes and their local environment on their skin… solving major skin conditions where traditional treatment remain generic”.

The investment will be used to extend the company’s B2B offering to skincare, haircare and healthcare companies, adding to its 12 major clients. The company will also be rolling out a consumer product with a focus on expanding into the US via New York City.

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Rauno Miljand, managing partner of lead investor Metaplanet said Sequential Skin “is the first company, using genomics and microbiome skin assays, that identifies to consumers the exact [skincare] products suited for each individual”.

“The only way to truly understand skin health and create personalisation is to understand your genetic predispositions and your skin microbiome. Understanding these biomarkers allows for not only personalised skincare, but the ability to discover novel targets to treat skincare disease like atopic dermatitis”, he added.

Dr Oliver Worsley, CEO and co-founder of Sequential Skin, said: “We now have significant traction in assembling an extensive dataset on skin types from Asia, Europe and the US—a great chance for us to discover novel biomarkers for skin conditions in different populations”.

He added that the funding “will significantly boost [its] IP portfolio, using [its] novel patch-based, skin analysis, to develop further tools to understand how… genetics, epigenetics and skin microbiome, affect health and disease”.