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03.18.03
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC -- StemCo Biomedical, Inc., an RTP, NC-based company engaged in the development of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) identification products, announced today that it has secured a Series B round of financing for $9.8 million. The Trelys Funds accompanied lead investors Intersouth Partners and The Aurora Funds, along with other new investors Tall Oaks Capital Partners, Becton Dickinson Ventures and individuals.
"We are delighted with the progress that StemCo has made toward addressing an important area of unmet clinical need," said Garheng Kong, principal with Intersouth Partners. "The Company launched its first product earlier this year and will enter clinical trials for another product later this year. With significant domain expertise in the life sciences industry, the StemCo team has a proven track record of developing technologies into products."
"StemCo Biomedical has an especially strong team and value proposition," added Adrian Wilson, Managing General Partner of The Trelys Funds. "We are pleased and excited to have StemCo as the first biotech venture in our growing portfolio of high-quality, early-stage companies."
StemCo Biomedical, Inc. was founded by world-class researchers at the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center and Stem Cell Transplant Program. These researchers developed StemCo's core technology over several years of steady research and active participation in transplanting stem cells into cancer patients. StemCo has a clearly defined product development and release strategy for its hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) identification products. The market for the products being developed by StemCo is very large; the transplant market alone is more than $1 billion annually. In addition, there are no high profile ethical concerns with the use of StemCo's products since the products use traditional and widely accepted sources of HSCs that are not derived from fetal or embryonic tissues. The expanded applications of StemCo's platform technology will include autoimmune diseases, anemias, tissue regeneration and cell plasticity. These additional applications give StemCo access to markets in excess of $5 billion annually.
"We are very pleased to have such a strong team of investors for our second institutional round of financing," said Jonathon Lawrie, CEO and President of StemCo Biomedical, Inc. "The fundraising environment is difficult today but StemCo was fortunate to partner with top-notch investors that believe in our mission to be the leader in therapeutic stem cell products."
About STEMCO Biomedical
StemCo Biomedical, Inc. was founded in 1999 and is located in the Research Triangle Park area of NC. The Company is engaged in the development, manufacture and distribution of a series of medical products designed to improve therapeutic transplantation of adult hematopoetic stem and progenitor cells derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood or umbilical cord blood. Addressing a market of more than $1 billion annually, the Company will have a series of products on the market starting in 2002 that identify, sort and custom-engineer stem cell grafts based upon cellular expression of ALDH resulting in what may be better, more effective stem cell transplants in the future. For more information on StemCo, visit www.stemcobiomedical.com
About The Trelys Funds
Founded in 2001, The Trelys Funds is a venture capital investment group headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina. Trelys focuses on an underserved market of entrepreneurs and investors located primarily in South Carolina, North Carolina and the surrounding region. The founding investors of The Trelys Funds include BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina, BB&T Corporation, First Citizens Bank, the Clemson University Foundation, and the Medical University of South Carolina Foundation. For more information, visit www.trelys.com.
© the trelys funds
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