Cellares closes a £327 million funding round and is accelerating towards an IPO in 2027

Cellares has closed a Series D funding round of $327 million, bringing forward its plans for a potential initial public offering originally expected in 2027. The funding will support the path to commercialisation of the robotics platform developed and the development of automated systems for the industrial-scale production of cancer cell therapies.

The round saw participation from some of the world’s leading institutional investors, including BlackRock, T. Rowe Price Investment Management and ARK Invest, alongside private equity firm Prime Radiant Partners, which committed $50 million to the round as part of its first investment.

According to co-founder and CEO Fabian Gerlinghaus, the company is currently in a transitional phase towards large-scale commercial production: “This is the final round before the IPO,” Gerlinghaus said in an interview, adding that the company’s valuation is approaching ‘unicorn’ status thanks to the latest capital raise. Founded in 2019, with this latest round Cellares has raised a total of $682 million.

In terms of governance, Peter Soelkner, who previously worked at Vetter Pharma-Fertigung, will join Cellares’ board of directors as an observer.

This Series D funding round comes at a time when the biotech company is preparing for its first commercial launch, with the aim of bringing to market an industrial platform for the production of personalised cell therapies, which are considered more effective than chemotherapy in treating various forms of cancer.