Monday, March 14, 2011

Living Proof lands $16M in Series B financing

By Rodney H. Brown

Living Proof Inc., a Cambridge-based biomaterials company focusing on beauty products, has taken on $16 million in a Series B financing round that the company says will help it launch new R&D efforts and grow its distribution.

Investing in this round was Piper Jaffray Merchant Banking and Living Proof’s sole previous investor, Polaris Venture Partners, which founded the company with serial life sciences entrepreneur Robert Langer. Originally the company was called Andora Inc., and it has raised $20 million through two tranches of a Series A round and the first tranche of its Series B round to date, the most recent one being in June of 2009. 

Representing Polaris on the Living Proof board is general partner Amir Nashat, who served as acting president until June 2009, and Polaris co-founder Jon Flint, who serves as CEO and executive chairman of Living Proof.

Early in 2009, Living Proof released its first product, a hair treatment to reduce frizziness called No Frizz. The product is sold on shopping channels such as QVC and through the retail chain Sephora, according to the Living Proof website. Last year, the company launched the FULL franchise, a line of volume-building haircare products that promote long-lasting fullness.

Langer is a 2004 Mass High Tech All-Star honoree, and an Institute Professor at MIT, the highest faculty honor. For the lengthy list of startups spawned by Langer, read this profile from last summer.