COLUMBIA, Md., March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Cylex Incorporated, a life sciences company and leader in immune system testing, today announced that it has now completed a final close on its third round of private financing, with an investment from Siemens Venture Capital, GmbH and other private investors. Cylex raised a total of $20.5 million in this round of financing. The private offering was co-led by Channel Medical Partners and Canaan Partners. Asante Partners acted as advisers to Cylex in the financing.
"It is particularly noteworthy that we now have the top two diagnostic companies in the world among our investor group at Cylex, with Siemens joining Roche with their investment support. The confidence of our strategic investors continues to confirm the potential for our flagship product, ImmuKnow(TM), as well as the potential of the immune monitoring market," said Judith A. Britz, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Cylex. "We certainly welcome Siemens' commitment and support."
Tony Bihl, President of Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics, said, "Cylex has a unique and elegant technology for quantification of immune function, which is complementary to our own efforts related to immunosuppressant drugs."
Anupendra Sharma, Investment Partner at Siemens Venture Capital, added, "Judy Britz has led the Cylex team in successfully validating the test scientifically, while driving adoption among clinicians. With today's successful penetration of the transplant market, the company is just scratching the surface of ImmuKnow's potential, and we look forward to helping them commercialize it for other applications."
About Cylex
Cylex is a life science company and a leader in the development and manufacture of unique products that use the immune system for predicting and managing human health. It is the first and only company to offer a patent- protected, FDA-cleared cellular assay of immune system function, ImmuKnow(TM), which measures the vitality of a patient's immune system from a single drop of blood. The company's products enable physicians to better manage and personalize the treatment of life-threatening diseases, such as HIV, HCV, cancer, diabetes, autoimmune and other disorders, as well as serious conditions associated with organ transplantation.
ImmuKnow(TM) is currently being incorporated into patient protocols at leading U.S. hospitals and clinics. It is the only standardized cellular assay, easily performed in the lab, with quick and accurate results. By optimizing therapy, ImmuKnow(TM), helps the physician lower the cost of treatment and improve treatment outcome, reduce the side effects of drugs, and enhance the patient's prospects for long-term quality of life. www.cylex.net
About Siemens Venture Capital
Siemens Venture Capital (SVC) is the 700 million euro corporate venture organization for Siemens AG, one of the largest global electronics and engineering companies, with reported worldwide sales of 87.3 billion euros in fiscal 2006. SVC's goals is to identify and fund investments in emerging and innovative technologies that will enhance the core business scope of Siemens, particularly in automation and control, medical solutions, information and communications, power, automotive technology and transportation systems, and lighting.
To date, SVC has invested some 700 million euros in well over 100 startup companies and 30 venture capital funds, mainly in the U.S., Europe and Israel, thus playing a key role in the global network of innovation. SVC is located in Germany (Munich), in the U.S. (San Jose, CA and Boston, MA), in China (Beijing and Shanghai), in India (Mumbai and Bangalore), and is active through Siemens' regional unit in Israel.
SVC is part of a greater network at Siemens whose mission is to drive technological innovation by supporting startup companies. In addition to Siemens Venture Capital, Siemens Technology Accelerator and Siemens Technology-To-Business Center also contribute to Siemens' innovation strategy. Their individual mandates are defined according to financing stages and industry focus. More information can be found at: www.siemensventurecapital.com.
About Channel Medical Partners
Channel Medical Partners is a leading emerging growth investor in medical technology companies. This stage of financing has historically represented a narrow channel or bottleneck for emerging growth companies -- to the point in their development between the substantial capital provided by earlier stage venture capital investors and that provided by institutions focused primarily on public companies. The firm has a demonstrated record of success in not only providing capital, but also in enabling and ensuring the commercial success of its portfolio companies. The Principals at Channel believe that the commercialization process has emerged as a critical activity at venture- backed companies and that their success has, in part, been driven by this trend.
About Canaan Partners
For some 20 years, Canaan Partners has invested in innovative, early-stage technology and health care companies, helping to catalyze the next generation of market leaders. The Firm provides companies with growth capital as well as its knowledge, experience, connections, loyalty and guidance to help optimize the value of the enterprise.
Media Contacts: Lev Janashvili RF|Binder Partners, Inc. 212-994-7613 lev.janashvili@rfbinder.com
Cylex IncorporatedCONTACT: Lev Janashvili, RF|Binder Partners, Inc., +1-212-994-7613,lev.janashvili@rfbinder.com
