COLUMBIA, Md., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Cylex Incorporated(R), a life sciences company and leader in immune system testing, today announced that it has closed the first phase of a third round of private financing at $18.4 million. The private offering was co-led by Channel Medical Partners and Canaan Partners.
"Our investors have recognized the importance of Cylex being first to market with an FDA-approved cellular immune function assay. Cylex has already had an important impact on the treatment of transplant recipients and is becoming a leader in the worldwide multi-billion dollar immune monitoring market" said Judith A. Britz, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of Cylex. "We have made important strides in advancing ImmuKnow(R) as a standard of care at prestigious hospitals and among leading transplant physicians. That gives us and our investors great confidence as we expand the use of our assay into additional therapeutic areas as a companion diagnostic for the individualized management of HIV, HCV, cancer and autoimmune disease," she added.
In addition to Channel Medical Partners and Canaan Partners, other investors in this round of funding include First Analysis and current investors: Cahn Medical Technologies, Calvert Venture Fund, Chesapeake Emerging Opportunities, Early Stage Enterprises, NJTC Venture Fund, Roche Venture Fund and The Washington Dinner Club.
"We believe Cylex is at a significant inflection point in its growth curve and are excited about future market opportunities," said Carol D. Winslow, Founder and Principal at Channel.
"Cylex offers potentially lifesaving information for patients and tremendous cost savings for the health care system. Cylex's easily performed and relatively inexpensive test may shift the risks and costs of organ transplantation," said Seth Rudnick, M.D., of Canaan.
With this initial closing, Channel's Carol D. Winslow and Canaan's Seth Rudnick, M.D. join the Cylex Board of Directors.
Ms. Winslow is a founder and principal of Channel Medical Partners. She has more than 25 years of medical technology experience in the capital markets and earlier in various management positions at Medtronic, Inc. Dr. Rudnick is a general partner of Canaan Partners. As the former CEO of Cytotherapeutics, he brings operational experience as an entrepreneur. His background in the healthcare industry includes experience in R&D, clinical trials and biotechnology at Schering Plough, Johnson and Johnson and Biogen.
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 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 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.
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 - 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 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: David Kalson, RF|Binder Partners 212-994-7513 david.kalson@rfbinder.com Lev Janashvili, RF|Binder Partners 212-994-7613 lev.janashvili@rfbinder.com
Cylex IncorporatedCONTACT: David Kalson, +1-212-994-7513, david.kalson@rfbinder.com, or LevJanashvili, +1-212-994-7613, lev.janashvili@rfbinder.com, both of RF|BinderPartners, for Cylex Incorporated
