October 4, 2018
Innovatus Life Sciences Announces Investment in Personal Genome Diagnostics
NEW YORK, October 4, 2018 – Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC ("Innovatus" or the "Firm"), an independent adviser and portfolio management firm with approximately $1.6 billion in assets under management, today announced that it has entered into a financing agreement with Personal Genome Diagnostics, Inc. (“PGDx” or the “Company”), a leader in the development of tissue-based and liquid biopsy technologies for cancer genomics. Innovatus will provide up to $42.0 million in capital that will be used to support PGDx’s strategic initiative to bring regulated in vitro diagnostic (IVD) genome testing to cancer patients and their physicians worldwide, helping to tailor treatments according to the specific characteristics of each patient’s cancer.
"We are excited to support PGDx’s effort to bring new IVD tests to market and expand access to its clinical applications of cancer genomics" said Claes Ekstrom, Managing Director of Innovatus. “This transaction is representative of the Firm’s commitment to providing creative financing solutions to life sciences companies that bring noteworthy and innovative advances in diagnostic solutions to market. We look forward to building a strong long-term relationship with the team at PGDx."
Headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, PGDx was founded in 2010 by Luis Diaz and Victor Velculescu, two leading researchers from Johns Hopkins University who were the first to perform genome-wide sequence analysis of human cancer, with the goal of bringing novel diagnostic approaches to patients with cancer. PGDx specializes in high-throughput, next-generation sequencing and proprietary algorithms to identify alterations in complex cancer genomes. The Company has a diversified business model supported by its proprietary technology portfolio, bioinformatics system and comprehensive genetic library.
“With significant experience in life sciences, Innovatus is an ideal partner for PGDx as we pursue our mission to expand access to cancer genomics through regulated IVD tests worldwide” said Douglas Ward, Chief Executive Officer of PGDx.
About Innovatus Capital Partners, LLC
Innovatus adheres to an investment strategy that identifies distressed, disruptive and growth opportunities in the less obvious market segments across multiple asset categories with a unifying theme of capital preservation, income generation, and upside optionality. The Firm has a dedicated team of real estate investment professionals with deep experience in commercial real estate acquisitions, recapitalizations and asset management across core-plus and opportunistic real estate investments amongst all property types including office, retail, hotel, medical, industrial and warehouse. Innovatus and its principals have significant real estate experience with ventures that range from the creation of a CMBS lending group and servicing platform to making equity investments in developments and single asset purchases. Further information can be found at innovatuscp.com.
About RAD Urban
Personal Genome Diagnostics (PGDx) empowers the fight against cancer by unlocking actionable information from the genome. The Company is committed to developing a portfolio of regulated tissue-based and liquid biopsy genomic products for laboratories worldwide. PGDx was established by researchers from Johns Hopkins University who are pioneers in cancer genome sequencing and liquid biopsy technologies. For additional information, visit pgdx.com.
CONTACT
Jonathan Keehner / Julie Oakes / Kate Clark
Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher
212-355-4449
kclark@joelefrank.com