List Biotherapeutics, Inc. (List Bio, President: Jonathan Yongwan Jo), a new venture under the Genome and Company umbrella, has announced plans for a new manufacturing facility in the Fishers Life Science & Innovation Park, Indiana after closing their Series A round investment.
List Bio is the latest venture of Genome and Company which has expanded into the US in the last 18 months with a majority strategic investment in List Labs and Scioto Biosciences located in Campbell, California and Fishers, Indiana.
The new company said that it raised a $31 million tranche of Series A financing last December followed by a second tranche of $17.4 million in March 2022.
With the Series A investment, List Bio plans to establish a manufacturing facility in the Fishers Life Science & Innovation Park in Fishers, Indiana. Upon completion, List Bio, together with List Labs, the first CDMO to produce a live biotherapeutic product (LBP) for clinical trial, will offer an end-to-end manufacturing solution for early-stage development through commercial production of new microbiome therapeutics, the company said.
The collaboration with List Labs will build on 40 plus years of bacterial strain experience and expertise and support a microbiome therapeutics market that research firm MarketsandMarkets expects to grow at a CAGR of 21.5%, from $788.8 million in 2025, to $1.416 billion in 2028. The 110,000 square foot contract manufacturing facility will create hundreds of new jobs in the city of Fishers, the company said.
Jisoo Pae, Founder & CEO of Genome and Company, said, “I am grateful to the investors who believed in the growth potential of our microbiome CDMO business. We will develop new microbiome therapeutics and kick-start the new business as part of our aim to lead the way as the distinguishing microbiome biotech with a fully integrated pharmaceutical value chain.”
The Series A financing of List Bio was carried out with a pre-money valuation of $30 million. The post-money valuation after the Series A closing is $78.4 million, the company said.
Five notable investors including Paratus Investment and SV Investment participated in the second tranche of Series A, adding to the list of prestigious investors such as Korea Investment Partners and DSC Investment. The Series A round, closing at just shy of $50 million, is the largest investment on record into Indiana by Korean investors.
The company’s decision to build in Fishers was driven by its status as a destination for technology and life science industry growth. The Fishers Life Science & Innovation Park was established in August 2021 and has seen more than $200 million in investment from life science firms Stevanato Group and INCOG Pharma. List Bio will contribute a further $125 million with the List Bio investment, in addition to the $10.5m already invested into Fishers-based Scioto Biosciences.
Under the leadership of Mayor Scott Fadness, Fishers is one of the fastest growing communities in Indiana and has received national accolades for entrepreneurship, livability, and safety.
“Fishers is known as a smart, vibrant and entrepreneurial destination for technology and life science industry growth and is perfectly positioned to support List Bio’s global expansion plans,” stated Mayor Scott Fadness. “We have the skilled workforce, infrastructure, and partnership with my administration that allows List Bio to focus on what matters: developing next-generation technology for the LBP manufacturing industry.”