Gen-Probe
10210 Genetic Center Drive, San Diego, CA, 92121, United States
Overview
Gen-Probe Incorporated develops, manufactures, and markets nucleic acid probe-based products used for the clinical diagnosis of human diseases, and for screening donated human blood in North America and internationally. The company markets and sells its clinical diagnostic products in the United States directly and outside the United States primarily through distributors, as well as through its direct sales force, and the company also markets and sells its other products through collaborative partners. The company's blood screening products are marketed and distributed worldwide by Novartis. In addition, the company has agreements with Siemens (as assignee of Bayer Corporation), bioMérieux, Inc., or bioMérieux, and Fujirebio, Inc., through its subsidiary Rebio Gen, Inc., or Rebio Gen, to market products in various overseas markets. The company is developing NAT assays and instruments for the detection of harmful pathogens in the environment and biopharmaceutical and beverage manufacturing processes. The company has entered into collaboration agreements with GE Infrastructure Water and Process Technologies, or GEI, a unit of General Electric Company, and Millipore Corporation, or Millipore, under which the company would be primarily responsible for developing and manufacturing assays for exclusive use or sale by its collaborative partners in specified fields with in the industrial testing market. Products The company has applied its core technologies to develop multiple product lines, all of which utilize its expertise in NAT probes, sample collection and processing. The company categorizes its products into clinical diagnostic products and blood screening products. Clinical Diagnostic Products Within its clinical diagnostic product group, the company has developed products for the detection of non-viral and viral microorganisms and for the detection of markers for cancer. Clinical Diagnostic Products for the Detection of Non-Viral Microorganisms The company has developed FDA-approved amplified and non-amplified NAT assays that detect non-viral micro-organisms primarily for use in clinical diagnostics. The company's principal products for the detection of non-viral microorganisms include its non-amplified AccuProbe and PACE family of products and its amplified Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Direct Test and amplified APTIMA products. AccuProbe Products: The company's AccuProbe Culture Identification products are tools for the identification of mycobacterial, fungal and bacterial pathogens, with sensitivities and specificities approaching 100% in most cases. These products allow for the detection of target organisms from primary cultures, eliminating the additional labor of purifying secondary cultures. All AccuProbe Culture Identification assays are based on its HPA technology. As part of its AccuProbe Culture Identification product line, the company also has developed a procedure to detect GBS from broth culture. Group A Streptococcus Direct: The Group A Streptococcus Direct Test, or GASDirect assay, is a NAT assay for the direct detection of Streptococcus pyogenes in one hour from a throat swab. PACE Product Family: The company's PACE 2C offers the testing for both chlamydia infections and gonorrhea from a single patient specimen.
- Total investments
- 2
- Lead investments
- 1
- Investments · 12mo
- 0
- Active investors
- 0
Sector focus
- Biotechnology
- Health Diagnostics
Investment portfolio
- Roka Bioscience
Participated · Series C · Jul 2011
Roka Bioscience develops and commercializes molecular-technology solutions for industrial markets, centered on its Atlas™ System. The Atlas™ System is a fully automated molecular instrument for detection of food pathogens in food and environmental samples. Roka plans initial assay launches for Listeria and Salmonella detection, with additional assays currently in development. The company intends to use the Series D funding to commercialize the Atlas System and support ongoing assay development. Roka closed $27.5M of the $47.5M Series D in December 2011 and expects to close the remaining $20M later in 2012. In conjunction with the financing, Aisling Capital partner Josh Bilenker will join Roka’s board, which is led by CEO and President Paul Thomas. Roka is based in Warren, N.J., and completed a $20M Series C in July 2011. Roka Bioscience develops and commercializes nucleic-acid molecular assays for food safety testing and other industrial applications. Its nucleic acid tests are based on proven technologies and instrument platforms with exclusive licensing rights from Gen-Probe. The company was founded in September 2009 as a spin-off of Gen-Probe’s industrial testing assets and technology and is led by CEO and President Paul Thomas. Roka is headquartered in Warren, NJ and operates a California office in San Diego. Eighteen former Gen-Probe employees joined at the time of the spin-off; today the company has 75 employees. Financially, Roka has raised a total of $57.2M to date.
- PacBio
Led · Series F · Jun 2010
Pacific Biosciences of California Inc is a company that develops gene sequencing technologies. The company announced that SoftBank Group Corp will invest $900 million. The Reuters report on the deal was written by Dania Nadeem and edited by Shinjini Ganguli. The article describes the transaction as SoftBank's latest healthcare investment. The piece does not disclose any operating metrics, valuation, deal terms, or other financial details. Pacific Biosciences develops SMRT (Single Molecule Real Time) DNA sequencing that monitors natural DNA synthesis by observing a single DNA polymerase in real time. Its approach relies on detecting a single DNA polymerase working in a continuous, processive manner. The company is working to apply the platform toward clinical diagnostics through a strategic collaboration with Gen‑Probe. That collaboration will explore co-development of integrated clinical diagnostics systems and begins with an exclusive period of up to 30 months, aiming for a longer-term preferred business relationship to improve diagnosis of human diseases. The two companies may also buy certain products from each other on preferential terms. Financially, Pacific Biosciences received a $50M strategic investment from Gen‑Probe as part of a larger Series F private round and had previously received more than $1.9M in NIH grants in September 2009. Pacific Biosciences develops a technology platform for real-time detection of biological events at single-molecule resolution, including its single molecule real time (SMRT) DNA sequencing technology. The company received grants totaling more than $1.9 million from the National Institutes of Health through the National Human Genome Research Institute. $1,190,022 was awarded over two years to support development of a direct DNA methylation detection method. An additional $714,406 was provided toward an existing NIH grant to support continued development and performance enhancements of SMRT sequencing. The funds are part of the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 Research and Research Infrastructure “Grand Opportunities” grants program. NHGRI indicated the awards will stimulate research ranging from understanding genome function to improvements in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human illness. Pacific Biosciences is a Menlo Park, Calif., company working to advance DNA sequencing technology and develop a real-time sequencing system. The company plans to use $68 million in new financing to prepare that system for commercial launch in 2010. Over the last year Pacific has raised a total of $188 million. Management says the technology could enable faster, in-office sequencing that shifts care toward preventive and personalized medicine and is focusing on how inheritance and environmental factors affect genetic health. The company faces competition from lower-cost entrants and other genomics firms—examples cited include Helicos, Illumina, 23andMe and Navigenics—which heightens pressure to produce innovation beyond current capabilities. Pacific BioSciences is developing a system that captures individual DNA molecules in tiny holes on a chip and uses enzyme-driven chemistry plus optical imaging to identify each DNA letter. The platform seeks to provide an in‑depth, base-by-base view of a person’s genome, aiming to map an individual’s entire genome in minutes and for under $1,000. The company says it expects to be ready to commercialize the technology by 2010. Pacific Bio faces competitors pursuing low-cost sequencing, including Complete Genomics and BioNanomatrix. The approach is intended to enable applications such as preventive medicine, large-scale data mining for new cures, and broader medical research. The company has attracted substantial venture backing over multiple rounds, reflecting investor confidence in the technology’s potential.
Team
No current team members are available.