Nanosphere
Inc. Receives Additional $5 Million in Third Round of Financing
Northbrook,
IL -- January 6, 2003 -- Nanosphere Inc., a nanotechnology-based life
sciences company, today announced it has received an additional $5
million in third round financing, bringing the total third round
financing to $15 million. These
proceeds will provide further capital to fund the commercialization of
the company’s first biomolecular detection system, which will be
released in the second half of 2003.
Third round investors include Lurie Investments of Chicago,
NextGen Partners LLC of Santa
Barbara, and
Takara Bio Inc. of
Kyoto
,
Japan
.
Nanosphere's
technology utilizes proprietary, highly selective nanoparticle probes in
conjunction with an integrated biomolecular detection system to provide
quick and effective processes for nucleic acid and protein
identification. Nanosphere’s
detection platform has extraordinary sensitivity and 100,000 times
greater specificity than current genomic detection systems and will
eliminate the need for time- and cost-intensive PCR/fluorophore-based
target amplification methods.
"This
round of financing received a tremendous amount of investor interest of
both in the
United States
and abroad,”
said Vijaya Vasista, Nanosphere's Chief Operating Officer.
“The investment community recognizes the market potential for
Nanosphere’s detection system and its superiority over available
detection platforms in the $20 billion in-vitro diagnostic market.”
Nanosphere,
a venture capital-backed life sciences company with headquarters in
Northbrook
,
Illinois
, is focused on the
development of a universal platform for the detection of infectious and
genetic diseases. Nanosphere’s
detection platform addresses the persistent need for detection systems
that can quickly and easily diagnose a wide range of life-threatening
ailments. For more
information, visit the company's web site at http://www.nanosphere-inc.com
.
###
Contact:
Vijaya
Vasista: (847) 656-0203,
(847) 254-7593 (mobile)
