Press Releases
Axial Biotech Announces $15.3 Million Series B Financing
Funds raised will be used accelerate development of first genetic test for scoliosis
Salt Lake City, Utah, (March 27, 2007) — Axial Biotech announced today that it has raised $15.3 million in Series B financing. This funding round, which will be split into two traunches, was led by new investor Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation with participation by existing investors vSpring Capital and Ohio Biotech Group, LLC. Roger J. Guidi, Vice President, Venture Investments, Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., will join Axial Biotech’s board of directors as part of the financing.
Axial Biotech has discovered a group of genetic markers for scoliosis that can, for the first time, allow surgeons to identify pre-symptomatically which children will develop severe scoliosis needing corrective surgery and which children are at low-risk for the progressive form of the disease. The funds raised in this financing will be used to accelerate Axial Biotech’s product development efforts and to prepare for the launch of its scoliosis genetic test late next year.
“We are thrilled to have such a strong group of investors backing our company at this stage,” says John M. Climaco, CEO of Axial Biotech. “We have long believed that prognostic DNA testing will completely revolutionize scoliosis treatment. Providing surgeons and their patients with the definitive prognostic information they need to confidently determine the appropriate course of treatment can only yield better outcomes for the children impacted by this terrible disease.”
Dinesh Patel, Ph.D., Managing Director of vSpring Capital, says “we are very excited to continue to back the Axial Biotech team and their groundbreaking products. With the conclusive demonstration of the prognostic utility of Axial Biotech’s prototype test panel for scoliosis, we believe Axial Biotech is well on the way to making the most sweeping change to spine deformity care ever made. Axial Biotech is one of the best examples available of the power of molecular diagnostics to deliver on the promise of personalized medicine.”
Leading orthopaedic surgeons agree with Dr. Patel’s assessment of Axial Biotech’s pioneering technology. Dr. Robert M. Campbell, Jr., MD, the President’s Council/Dielmann Chair in Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, and the Chairman of the Scoliosis Research Society’s Advocacy Committee (and who is unaffiliated with Axial Biotech) recently noted that: “Axial Biotech’s ability to genetically test . . . for progressive scoliosis . . . is the biggest breakthrough for orthopaedics, in my opinion, in the last 50 years, in the treatment of this serious disease.”
About Axial BiotechFounded in 2002 by a group of internationally recognized spine surgeons and geneticists, Axial Biotech is the first company to pursue DNA-based pre-symptomatic and prognostic tests for common spinal disorders. Axial is located in Salt Lake City, Utah.
About Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation.
Organized in 1973, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation (JJDC) is the venture capital subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. JJDC makes private equity investments in venture funded health care companies. Portfolio companies include those in the fields of pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, diagnostics and consumer products.
About vSpring Capital
vSpring Capital (www.vspring.com) is an early-stage venture capital firm with $260 million under management. With offices in Utah, New Mexico and Colorado, vSpring invests in information technology and life science companies that have the potential to transform their markets and create lasting value.
About Ohio Biotech Group, LLC
Ohio Biotech Group, LLC is group of angel investors that includes some of the leading spine surgeons in the United States.
Media Contact:
Eric K. Olson
Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing
Axial Biotech, Inc.
801-984-9100 ext. 129
eolson@axialbiotech.com
