Swift Biosciences leverages VC for multiple hires

Venture capital and hiring helped make for a big year at Swift Biosciences. When we last checked in at the life sciences startup in early 2013, it had just secured a $750,000 investment in its Series A. Since then it secured $7 million more in a Series B round of venture capital and hired seven people. "We just hired three people this month," says David Olson, CEO of Swift Biosciences. The hires over the last year have been in the Ann Arbor-based startup’s R&D and commercial groups. Olson adds, "That funding (the Series B) is directly related to the three hires we made this month. We’re looking to expand, specifically in our commercial group." The 4-year-old company is developing molecular biology reagents for research and diagnostic applications that provide new ways to examine disease-related genes. This genomic sequencing technology is expected to help researchers analyze samples faster, at a higher volume, and at a lower price per sample. It has raised $13.15 million to further the development of this technology platform. Swift Biosciences launched its first two products last year and is set to launch its third product next week. The new product is a sample prep test kit that can work with damaged and small samples. "It can do everything," Olson says. "It has a lot of capabilities." Source: David Olson, CEO of Swift Biosciences Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.