Venture capital firm Rand Capital Corporation has made a follow-on investment of USD250,000 as part of a USD1.75 million financing round led by existing investor BroadOak Capital Partners in Empire Genomics, a molecular diagnostics company.
Empire Genomics will use the proceeds to continue growing its business through investments in sales and marketing, automation, and increasing scale of operations as well as the launching of additional proprietary molecular diagnostics.
Anthony Johnson, President and CEO of Empire Genomics, says: "We appreciate the participation of BroadOak and Rand in this recent round of financing. We intend to make additional investments in the talent and infrastructure needed to advance our work and build scale to support the further commercialisation of our products. Our business continues to gain momentum, with first quarter revenue up almost 50 per cent over last year's first quarter. We are also very excited about our recent exclusive agreement to distribute our products in China, which we believe will further elevate our global visibility in genomics testing."
Empire Genomics has been in Rand's investment portfolio since June 2014 and represented approximately 2.7% of its net assets at 31 March, 2016. This latest investment is Rand's third in Empire Genomics, which brings its total investment to USD1.15 million, in the form of convertible notes and debt.
Daniel P Penberthy, Rand's Executive Vice President, adds: "Rand continues to be impressed by the work and growth of Empire Genomics. Our latest investment occurred just as Empire Genomics secured an exclusive agreement to distribute its products in China. Earlier this year Empire Genomics established a partnership with the Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials Consortium, led by the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, for the use of its diagnostic tests to provide earlier detection of prostate cancer. Empire Genomics' continued success in the commercialisation of its products combined with the strength of its management team, give us confidence in the future of this investment."
Bill Snider, Managing Partner, BroadOak Capital Partners, says: "Empire is poised to be an even more significant participant in the molecular oncology testing field with their recent investments. Following our initial investment, further knowledge of Empire's work led us to participate as an even larger investor this round. We are pleased to be teaming with Rand to support Empire's continued growth and contribution to better understanding and managing cancer."
