Sofinnova leads £15m round for Green Biologics

Capricorn Venture Partners, Oxford Capital Partners (OCP), Morningside Ventures and Convergince Holdings reinvested in Green Biologics as part of the round.

The fresh funding will be used by the company to finance the eventual launch of its first commercial production facility in the US, due to take place in 2016.

Previous funding
In November 2007, OCP led a £1.6m series-A round for the company, with participation from angel investors and Carbon Trust Investments. Prior to this round, Green Biologics had completed a couple of seed funding rounds with a combined value of around £370,000, according to its website.

In February 2009, the company received a further £1m from OCP, Carbon Trust and Morningside. This was followed in May 2010 with OCP, Capricorn, Carbon Trust and Morningside committing £4.9m to Green Biologics.

In May last year, Capricorn, OCP and Morningside injected a further £3.2m into the company. The three firms then provided an additional £2m to the company in July this year.

Company
Founded in 2003, Green Biologics is headquartered in Abingdon with an additional office in Ashland, Virginia, and a laboratory located in Columbus, Ohio. The company employs 40 staff.

Green Biologics has developed fermentation technology for the production of renewable C4 chemicals, with a core focus on the manufacturing of n-butanol. The chemical n-butanol is used in food and drink, household cleaning products, paints, adhesives, inks, plastics and pharmaceuticals. The global n-butanol market exceeds $6bn, according to Green Biologics.

The company produces renewable n-butanol from feedstocks such as grasses, corn, sugar beets and sugar cane. By using feedstocks, the company has access to lower-cost sugars.

People
Sean Sutcliffe is the CEO of Green Biologics. The company's board of directors includes Capricorn senior investment manager Claude Stoufs, OCP operating partner David Brister and Morningside's Reenie McCarthy. Denis Lucquin is a managing partner at Sofinnova.

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