Microsample Prep Company IntegenX Raises $15.6M, Acquires GenVault Corporation

PLEASANTON, CA--(Marketwire - February 03, 2011) - Securing the company’s leading position in sample preparation for genetic analysis, IntegenX Inc. (IXI) today announced the close of a transaction that included acquiring substantially all the stock of GenVault Corporation and a $15.6M round of financing led by Domain Associates with participation from returning investors. The capital will fund the commercialization of the Apollo 324 System for next-generation sequencing library preparation, the development of the Apollo 200 RapidHIT™ System for DNA-based human identification and the world-wide marketing of the GenTegra™ product line.

The addition of GenVault’s products to the IntegenX portfolio allows IntegenX to offer products that will make transportation and storage of user samples easier without needing refrigeration and without allowing degradation. The GenTegra™ products are now a part of IntegenX’s “sample-to-answer” process control and will increase the quality and value of data produced by IntegenX’s integrated sample preparation systems.

“As more and more genetic samples are stored and prepared for analysis, the potential for losing sample integrity while waiting for chemistry preparation increases,” said Stevan Jovanovich, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of IntegenX. “This affects data quality and is therefore an acute issue for nucleic acid sample preparation. The GenVault products address this problem successfully by stabilizing both RNA and DNA for next-generation sequencing, genotyping, forensic analysis, and other genomic applications,” he added.

The financing was led by life science venture capital firm Domain Associates, with participation from previous investors In-Q-Tel and RONAholdings LLC. With the transaction announced today, GenVault investors QuestMark Partners, Cross Creek Partners, and Greenspring Associates join the syndicate backing IntegenX.

“The management team at IntegenX has brought more than 40 products to market over the past 20 years at Applied Biosystems, Molecular Dynamics, Amersham, and other successful companies,” said Jim Blair, Ph.D., founding partner at Domain Associates. “By focusing on system integration and sample preparation, IntegenX has built a valuable portfolio of products for sequencing and human identification that are needed in the market right now.”

About IntegenX Inc.
IntegenX Inc. (IXI) headquartered in Pleasanton, CA, is a privately-held company that designs, manufactures and markets automated DNA and RNA based sample preparation. IntegenX products eliminate the most acute pain points affecting widely needed laboratory workflows. The company’s expertise and intellectual property includes its patented MOVe™ valve technology and proprietary patent-pending PrepX™ reagent kits. IntegenX microfluidics technology platforms integrate advanced fluidics and robotic capabilities to prepare samples for DNA and RNA sequencing and to produce sample-to-answer performance for DNA-based forensics and human identity (HID) testing, next generation sequencing, biodefense, and molecular diagnostics applications. For more information, please visit www.integenx.com.

About GenVault Corporation
GenVault is the global leader in providing biosample workflow, transport, and storage solutions for genomic medicine, discovery and identification. Today, GenVault is empowering pharmaceutical companies, medical centers, academic institutions and law enforcement agencies to more fully leverage the rapidly growing genomics industry. As a scalable and reliable complement to traditional freezers and nucleic acid purification systems, the company’s dry state platform enables the extraction, preservation, recovery, and distribution of biosamples at ambient temperature. GenVault is continuously developing and refining best practices for biomolecule sample management, transport and preservation. For more information, visit GenVault at www.genvault.com.