Rochester, NY – June 05, 2012 -- Diffinity Genomics®, Inc. an early-stage life science company focused on providing faster, simpler nucleic acid purification products to the life science community, announced today the closing of a Series B funding round and the appointment of Donald E. Pogorzelski and Eric Allyn to the company’s Board of Directors.
The Series B funding will primarily be used for commercialization of new products, increasing manufacturing capacity, and expanding the sales efforts of the company. Diffinity Genomics’ initial products, the Diffinity RapidTip and Diffinity RapidTip2, enable one minute DNA purification from PCR solutions in a single step with a standard pipettor. The company is looking to add new, fast RapidTip purification products to its portfolio for use in additional DNA purification applications.
Key new investors and investment groups contributed to the Series B funding round, including Mass Med Angels, LLC, and the Allyn Family Capital Fund, LLC. The appointment of Mr. Pogorzelski and Mr. Allyn to the Board of Directors occurred after the round closed.
“The addition of new investors and investment groups continues to validate and support the company’s technology, products, and long term growth potential”, said Jeffrey Helfer, CEO, Diffinity Genomics. “Eric and Don are excellent additions to the Board of Directors with their broad, diverse management experience and knowledge of the market. We look forward to their contributions and guidance as the business continues to grow.”
Eric Allyn is an owner of Welch Allyn, a manufacturer of Medical Devices based in Skaneateles NY where he now serves as co-chairman of the company’s board. He began his career with Welch Allyn in 1982, working in a variety of roles including Sales Management, Business Development, Product Management, Marketing Communications, Product Development and Country Management, with two years living in the UK as Country Manager. He had sales responsibility in Japan and portions of Asia for seven years and has extensive industry knowledge in medical devices, health care delivery, and international business. Mr. Allyn led the company’s transition from the 3rd generation of Family management/ownership to the 4th generation of Family ownership utilizing non-family management. Outside of Welch Allyn, Mr. Allyn is the Chairman of the Board of Auburn Memorial Hospital, and serves on the Board of Directors of GOJO (makers of Purell), Pharma Tech Industries, and Family Enterprise USA. He serves on the Board of Governors of Hospital Trustees of NYS (HTNYS), and is the founding partner of Allyn Family Capital Fund LLC, and Allyn Family Pooled Fixed Income Fund LLC. Mr. Allyn works with a number of Financial Institutions managing the portfolios of various endowments, foundations, and trusts. Mr. Allyn earned his Master of Business Administration degree at the Darden School at the University of Virginia, and is a graduate of Dartmouth College.
Don Pogorzelski was previously President of Genzyme Diagnostics prior to selling the Division to Sekisui Chemical in 2011. Mr. Pogorzelski joined Genzyme Diagnostics in 1988, assumed the role of President in 1996, and became an Officer of the Corporation in 2001. He has held several senior management positions prior to his role at Genzyme. In his last assignment prior to joining Genzyme, he was the Regional Marketing Manager, Boston Region (Northeast), Abbott Laboratories, Diagnostics Division. He joined Abbott in 1976. He earned his M.B.A. at the University of Chicago with concentrations in Marketing and Finance and his B.S. at Loyola University, Chicago with a major in Zoology. He lives in Cambridge, MA, with his wife. They have two children. He was elected to the NEBH Board of Trustees in February 2007, was on the Institutional Review Board at New England Baptist Hospital from mid 2002 to February 2007 and in 2006 joined the NEBH Board of Visitors. He currently is Vice Chair of the board. He is also a Trustee for St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church of Boston. Mr. Pogorzelski was the commencement speaker at Wentworth Institute of Technology and received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Engineering Technology there in 2006. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees at Wentworth and chairs the Trusteeship and Governance committee.
