Synthetic biology company Antheia has secured $40M in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank and Oxford Finance LLC, as part of a plan to build a new biomanufacturing facility, expected to be complete by the end of 2023.

The facility will be an expansion next to its headquarters, located in Menlo Park, California. The 14K SF facility is aimed at improving the company’s overall efficiency and assist in its ability to scale up its production portfolio.

"Pilot plants are an essential component of scaling with biomanufacturing, and high-quality pilot plant capacity is increasingly scarce in the U.S.," Antheia Chief Operating Officer Zack McGahey said in a press release. "As we advance our entire pipeline of pharmaceutical candidates, investing in our own on-site facility will be critical for optimizing strain performance and improving efficiency as we move to industrial scale production."

Life sciences construction has boomed in recent months, with more than 26M SF of speculative construction on deck nationwide, despite concerns that the market is set to see a dip in demand.

"We're thrilled to support Antheia and their mission to disrupt the traditional agricultural-based supply chain and accelerate the discovery of new medicines," Silicon Valley Bank Director of Life Sciences and Healthcare Peter Sletteland said in a press release. "As lenders with a focus on the longer-term growth trajectory, we are excited about the company's future."

The Bay Area’s own life sciences market has seen unprecedented demand over 2022, with office-to-life sciences conversions spiking in an effort to speed product to market, despite the associated cost and logistics hurdles.