WOBURN, Mass., April 18 /PRNewswire/ -- VisEn Medical, Inc., a leader in fluorescence in vivo imaging, today announced the expansion of its Series B financing. Merck Capital Ventures and Flagship Ventures co-led this $5.0 million expansion of the Series B round, which initially raised $7 million in November 2007, bringing the total Series B financing amount to $12.0 million. VisEn will use the additional financing to further advance its proprietary fluorescence in vivo imaging product pipelines, and to expand its commercial applications and customer support of its marketed products worldwide.
“We are pleased to have Merck Capital and Flagship Ventures deepen and extend their support of our company and our programs,” said Kirtland Poss, President and Chief Executive Officer of VisEn Medical. “Based on our progress since the first Series B closing, the results that customers are achieving with our systems and agents, some key new product launches, and the strong commercial traction we are already seeing in 2008, our Board and our investors have decided to increase their support to accelerate our growth.”
“We invest in emerging companies with proven technologies that support the pharmaceutical industry,” said Per Lofberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of Merck Capital Ventures and a member of the Board of VisEn. “VisEn is a market leader in fluorescence in vivo imaging pre-clinically, and well positioned to advance into human clinical trials with its technology platforms. These translational linkages are of growing importance in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, and we are pleased to participate in this opportunity.”
Ed Kania, Chairman of VisEn Medical and Managing Partner of Flagship Ventures noted, “We see tremendous value and promise in VisEn’s technologies and products, its deep customer relationships with a growing number of leading pharmaceutical companies, and its early progress driving the translation of its preclinical technologies into eventual clinical use. We are pleased to continue our strong support and participation with VisEn in these areas.”
About VisEn Medical, Inc.
VisEn Medical, Inc. was founded in 2000 based on fluorescence in vivo imaging technologies initially developed by industry-leading researchers and clinicians at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. VisEn develops and commercializes the industry’s highest performing fluorescence in vivo imaging technology platforms, from research through medicine. The Company also works directly with large pharmaceutical partners to design ranges of tailored molecular imaging probes and applications that are targeted to their specific research areas. Privately-held VisEn is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts and has been financed by leading venture firms including Flagship Ventures, Merck Capital Ventures and The Bollard Group. For further information please visit www.visenmedical.com.
About Merck Capital Ventures, LLC
Merck Capital Ventures is a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. founded in November 2000. Merck Capital Ventures (MCV) actively invests in emerging businesses with interesting technology in areas related to the commercialization, distribution and delivery of pharmaceuticals and related healthcare services. The focus of MCV is to invest in technologies that accelerate innovation related to the pharmaceutical business and other sectors of health care delivery. For further information, see www.merckcapitalventures.com.
About Flagship Ventures
Flagship Ventures is a leading venture capital firm focused on creating, financing, and building innovative companies. Founded in 2000, Flagship operates from its offices at Kendall Square in Cambridge, MA. With an active portfolio of over 40 companies, the firm’s strategy is to balance its investments across three principal business sectors: Life Science / Diagnostics Tools, Energy & Technology Platforms, and Therapeutics. Through its unique venture creation and seed investing programs, Flagship actively participates in developing new ventures that are commercializing many of the leading breakthroughs of our times. For more information, visit www.flagshipventures.com.
Source: VisEn Medical, Inc.
