GreenLight Biosciences Closes $102M Series D To Expand RNA Products

GreenLight Biosciences raised an oversubscribed $102 million Series D funding round, enabling the Boston-based company to rapidly expand production of its RNA products for agricultural and life sciences applications, the company said Tuesday.

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Morningside Ventures led the round with participation from new and existing investors including S2G Ventures, Cormorant Asset Management, Continental Grain Company, Fall Line Capital, Tao Capital Partners, Baird Capital, MLS Capital Fund II, Lewis and Clark AgriFood and Lupa Systems, the company said in a written statement.

“GreenLight Biosciences’ manufacturing technology can address critical pain points for RNA supply in both agriculture and human health,” Morningside’s Jason Dinges said in a written statement. “RNA-based products represent an opportunity for innovation in both human therapeutics as well as safe, environmentally-friendly crop protection, and we are excited to partner with GreenLight’s expert team to deliver them at scale to patients and farmers alike.”

GreenLight, formed in 2008, has raised a total of $113 million, according to Crunchbase data. The new funding comes a month after the biotechnology company received a $17 million special purpose round to accelerate large-scale manufacturing of future COVID-19 vaccines using the company’s proprietary messenger RNA production technology.

RNA is a natural molecule that controls the biological processes in all living things. The company said that while therapies using RNA are not new, they have not been previously commercially viable. GreenLight said it has developed a way to rapidly and affordably scale production of RNA products.

The company said it plans to use the new funding toward expansion of its human health efforts into new platforms like RNA-based therapeutics, as well as develop and commercialize products focused on sustainable crop production. GreenLight’s first biopesticide is expected to go on the market in 2022, the company said.

“GreenLight was born from a passion to make our world more sustainable and more equitable,” Andrey Zarur, GreenLight’s co-founder and CEO, said in a written statement. “We are honored to draw the support of this notable group of new and existing investors as we drive forward our dual mission to make food production more robust and environmentally respectful; and our health solutions applicable to every member of the human race.”

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