Camarillo’s PBS Biotech Secures $10 Million in Funding Round

PBS Biotech has raised $10 million in a private funding round with investment bank BroadOak Capital Partners.The Camarillo-based company plans to use the funding to industrialize and widen its portfolio of bioreactor systems and contract process development services.PBS specializes in manufacturing single-use bioreactors and uses proprietary technology to achieve mixing properties and environmental conditions for cell therapy products. This method has proven superior to traditional “stirred-tank” bioreactors, according to the company.PBS Biotech’s systems are used by more than 200 customers, from development groups and large-scale manufacturing groups to small-scale research companies. The bioreactor systems are useful for stem cell manufacturing and certain types of therapy manufacturing.“Cell therapies represent a paradigm shift that enable durable cures for today’s untreatable diseases,” BroadOak Partner Bill Snider said in a statement. “PBS Biotech is well-positioned to enable scalable manufacturing of stem cells in this emerging space, and we are proud to partner with them for the first investment of BroadOak’s Fund V.”“We are excited to have this business milestone accomplished at the perfect time,” Brian Lee, chief executive of PBS Biotech, said in a statement. “With the support of BroadOak, PBS Biotech will deliver on our vision of becoming the world’s standard manufacturing platform for allogeneic cell therapies.”