SkyCell, a Swiss startup transforming the pharmaceutical supply chain, has closed $116 million in Series D funding. This is split into $59 million from Tybourne Capital Management and CCI and $57 million equity investment from Catalyst, M&G Investments’ purpose-led private assets strategy.
As per the company, this round makes it one of Europe’s leading deeptech companies, at a time when the pharma industry is experiencing fast growth, driven by high-value goods that require careful transportation.
The investment will be used for the continued expansion of SkyCell’s global footprint with a key focus on growth across the US and Asia. In addition to the investment, Bosun Hau, Tybourne’s Head of Private Equity, joined SkyCell’s Board of Directors.
What challenge does it tackle?
The pharmaceutical industry faces a significant carbon footprint challenge, making up 4.4% of global emissions, and a large share of this is a result of the energy-intensive nature of transporting temperature-sensitive pharmaceuticals. This is where SkyCell comes into the picture.
The Swiss startup has developed a comprehensive approach to protecting the pharmaceutical supply chain through a combination of IP-protected temperature-controlled containers, software, and big data analytics.
What does the company do?
Founded in 2013 by Nico Ros and Richard Ettl, SkyCell serves pharmaceutical supply chains with temperature-controlled hybrid containers. It has also built an analytics platform for its customers to monitor and manage their supplies as they move from lab to lab and distribution centres.
It has built a proprietary cold chain technology and software platform, SkyMind, which streamlines shipment and asset management through automation and real-time visibility. SkyMind allows pharma companies and their suppliers to make better decisions in designing supply chains on the 3 key factors: risk, cost, and CO2.
With access to historical data from its large connected container fleet as well as advanced forecasting analytics, SkyMind uses data to prevent the loss of medications with better predictability. The tool is part of the software suite, enabling clients to predict, track, and report CO2 emissions as well as optimise routes to minimise their carbon footprint.
It is claimed to reduce the spoilage of medicines in transit to almost zero and CO2 emissions by up to 50% thanks to its lightweight advanced containers. With an independently audited temperature-excursion rate of less than 0.05%, the need to remanufacture and reship medicines is minimised, thus reducing wasted logistics, energy, and resources.
Richard Ettl, co-founder and CEO of SkyCell, said: “It is such an exciting time to be a technology provider to the pharma industry as the sector experiences fast growth from new, blockbuster biologics coming to market. At the same time, the industry has recognised the need to decarbonise the supply chain, as more than 70% of pharma is shipped in a one-way solution, which will shortly see fees introduced for disposal…With this new investment, we can further optimise supply chains and create truly sustainable logistics.”
Bosun Hau, Managing Director and Head of Private Equity at Tybourne Capital Management said: “I am delighted to join SkyCell’s board at this seminal moment in the Company’s growth. With its lead in hardware as well as software and tracking platform offering, SkyCell is well positioned to become the technology partner of choice to the global pharmaceutical industry well beyond its current cold-chain logistics business. Global supply chains are becoming increasingly complex and managing risk is a board-level issue for nearly every sector – for pharmaceutical companies, in particular, it is mission-critical for getting life-saving medications into the hands of patients.”
SkyCell’s Chief Financial Officer, Dr Remo Gerber said, “Gaining CCI and Tybourne as investors significantly broadens our footprint in the US and Asia and is a testament to our high growth based on strong financial business fundamentals. Having built the technological foundations in cold chain hardware and software/IoT-enabled tracking this investment enables us to commercialise our platform into adjacent pharma market segments, significantly expanding our total addressable market beyond cold chain packaging. ”
What do we think about SkyCell?
This Swiss startup is revolutionising pharmaceutical logistics with its innovative cold chain technology, significantly reducing medicine spoilage and CO2 emissions. The recent funding will enable expansion in the US and Asia, enhancing global supply chain sustainability. It is changing the face of global pharmaceutical supply chains through a combination of hybrid containers, tracking software, and risk management services.
