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News
Intrepid Bioinformatics Receives Investment, Meets Milestones
MetaCyte portfolio company closes $550,000 funding round, hires CEO
Louisville-based start-up company Intrepid Bioinformatics has received a $550,000 investment led by Kentucky Seed Capital Fund (KSCF), announced Ted Kalbfleisch, Ph.D., the company's founder, a faculty member at the school of medicine, and associate director of bioinformatics at the University of Louisville Center for Genetic and Molecular Medicine (CGeMM).
Intrepid is developing a secure web-based data repository that allows researchers to dynamically manage their own proprietary data alongside the large volume of public data currently available online.
"We have developed a straight-forward, cost-effective solution to a major problem for researchers," Kalbfleisch explained. "Management of the amount of available data is otherwise much too expensive and cumbersome for most researchers to manage, which limits the promise of their research."
"Intrepid's software really targets a niche of genomics researchers that other products can't adequately serve," said George Emont, managing director of Kentucky Seed Capital Fund. "Given the growth of genomic sequencing research, we feel Intrepid is poised for success."
Along with KSCF, the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation, Commonwealth Seed Capital, and the University of Louisville Foundation have invested in the company.
According to Kalbfleisch, the investment is fueling the company's progress toward commercialization, including the hiring of a CEO.
Intrepid names CEO
Kalbfleisch also announced the company has named its first full-time executive, Tom McMahon of Louisville.
"Over the last year, the Intrepid/MetaCyte team has made great strides toward becoming a fundamentally strong company. The fact that we now have someone of Tom's caliber also committed to the success of Intrepid is a tremendous step forward," Kalbfleisch said. "Tom, our current MetaCyte management team, and I already have a very good relationship. His leadership, coupled with an existing team that is very strong paints a very bright future for the company."
Prior to taking leadership at Intrepid, McMahon was managing partner of IGE Media/Medical News, president and founder of Growth Services, and executive director of Health Enterprises Network, all based in Louisville.
"The Intrepid/MetaCyte team has a proven ability to execute and build, but their most unique trait is their passion for what they do," McMahon said. "I can't overstate the value they have created and what a privilege it is to join the team."
Payments Allow Research Re-investment at UofL
In addition to hiring staff, MetaCyte's project manager for Intrepid, Gina Lankswert, presented $21,688.85 to the Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) at the University of Louisville to reimburse patent costs and to make its first license issue fee payment. According to Lankswert, "Intrepid is on course and meeting its milestones, which include meeting its obligations to the university."
"We are exceptionally excited for Intrepid," said James Zanewicz, director of the OTT. "These payments are a strong indication that the company is moving forward successfully toward commercialization. They also allow us to reinvest into the research and education enterprise at UofL which supports the next generation of technologies and the students who will develop them."
The Intrepid team is planning for next steps toward commercialization.
"Short term, we are focused on product development, selling to our initial customers and raising additional capital," McMahon said. "Long term, we will continue to grow by staying focused on our metrics for success, developing our team's culture, and maintaining high standards for quality. Over time we'll be very proud to generate wealth for our investors and stakeholders and add high-paying jobs to our community."
"MetaCyte is proud to have helped cultivate this innovative company to this level," said Steve Gailar, president and CEO of MetaCyte Business Lab. "We are looking forward to hard work still to do over the coming months and years as the partnership leads to thriving new business."
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