March 25, 2009. VentureWire: BiOptix Sniffs Out $3M For Commercialization.

Contact: Rick Whitcomb,
President and CEO,
BiOptix Diagnostics, Inc
(303) 545-5550
rick@bioptix.com
http://www.BiOptix.com

VENTUREWIRE Wednesday, March 25, 2009. BiOptix Sniffs Out $3M For Commercialization

Boulder, Colo. -- With plans to start commercializing its technology this year, biomolecule detection company BiOptix Diagnostics Inc. has raised a $3 million Series A round.

Boulder Ventures led the round, which included individual investors. The valuation of the Series A, which closed on March 9, was not disclosed. Boulder Ventures was a familiar investor for BiOptix, as company founder Misha Plam previously was president and chief executive of Sievers Instruments Inc., which was backed by Boulder Ventures.

Boulder, Colo.-based BiOptix has developed an array-based biomolecule detection system aimed at improving quality assurance in drug development by measuring concentration levels. The company plans to focus primarily on pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical customers, while also targeting academic institutions, President and Chief Executive Rick Whitcomb said.

"We intend to start shipping at the end of Q3 this year," Whitcomb said. "Between now and then we're staffing some critical needs, and also we're looking for customers/partners with whom we can do some joint development to make sure their needs are met on our platform."

The company's technology has broad applications, Whitcomb said, and may be developed in the future for uses in areas such as infectious disease and medical diagnosis.

BiOptix was founded in 2003 around sniffing technology for biowarfare agents that proved to be not commercializable, Whitcomb said. The company in 2005 began working on its current technology, which was co-invented by John "Jan" Hall, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2005.

With the new round, Whitcomb, who previously was president and chief operating officer, was named president and CEO. Plam will continue as a director and advisor.

BiOptix, previously called AlphaSniffer LLC, raised $1.5 million in funding in 2005, according to VentureWire records. In total, the company previously raised two undisclosed private placements, Whitcomb said. "We expect that we'll probably need to do a Series B marketing and expansion type of round," in the next couple of years, Whitcomb said. "Our plan is very modest for the next year. If we end up exceeding expectations, that will change."

With the new round, Miragen Therapeutics Inc. Chief Executive William Marshall will be appointed to BiOptix's board to represent Boulder Ventures, Whitcomb said. Boulder Ventures did not return a call for comment by press time.

Link to the original press release