HOUSTON, Aug. 30, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LaserGen Inc. today announced closing its $5.0 million Series A financing. The proceeds will be used to demonstrate accurate sequencing of the E. coli genome in the upcoming months and to develop the Company’s next-generation sequencing (NGS) system. Aspen MedTech Ventures III Limited led the financing, which also included investments from LBS Technologies, Inc., San Luis Developments, LP, and other Houston angel investors. Thomas C. Thompson, managing partner of Aspen MedTech, will join the Company’s Board of Directors.
LaserGen also has engaged the strategy consulting firm Popper and Company, LLC to assist with commercialization plans. “Our collaboration with National Instruments is well underway,” said Dr. Michael Metzker, chief executive officer of LaserGen, “and the time is right to think about how to deliver the new NGS system to the marketplace. Popper and Company has the expertise we need to take our technical innovations to commercial success.” LaserGen announced last month a collaboration with National Instruments to develop a new NGS system, based on the Company’s breakthrough reversible terminator chemistry, Lightning Terminators™.
Popper and Company works exclusively with life science companies, offering a range of services including development and implementation of commercialization strategies. “We believe that LaserGen’s system can play a key role in bringing sequencing into routine use in research and in the clinic,” said Caroline Popper, president of Popper and Company. “We are delighted to apply our clinical and commercialization expertise to advance this new technology.”
Mr. Thompson, based in Houston, has a thirty-year track record of successful investing and entrepreneurship in life sciences. “I am very enthusiastic about the potential impact of LaserGen’s technology in the areas of life sciences and diagnostics,” said Mr. Thompson. “Together with Popper and Company’s commercial savvy, this enterprise may impact the lives of each and every one of us.”
About LaserGen
Based in Houston, TX, LaserGen (www.lasergen.com) is an early stage biotechnology company that has developed a proprietary reversible terminator reagents set that can improve primary read accuracy compared with existing NGS technologies. In 2010, LaserGen was named one of the most promising Life Science companies at the 9th Annual Life Science Venture Forum hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology & Entrepreneurship at Rice University.
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About Popper and Co.
Founded in 2003, Popper and Company is an M&A advisory and consulting firm to the life sciences industry whose mission is to help address complex challenges faced by public and private companies, as well as industry investors. The deep domain expertise of Popper and Company principals results in creative and insightful advice for its clients. The firm’s operational expertise spans clinical, technological, marketing, and finance roles in the diagnostics, medical device, and pharmaceutical sectors. The Popper and Company team delivers perspective, value, and hands-on service in business development, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning, technology assessment, and diligence. Visit www.popperandco.com for more information
CONTACT: At LaserGen:
Name: Michael Metzker
Phone number: (713) 747-3380, ext. 110
Email: mmetzker@lasergen.com
At Popper and Company:
Name: Caroline Popper, MD
Phone number:( 941) 586-9188
Email: popper@popperandco.com
