Life Science Start-up Caprotec Bioanalytics Receives Additional Venture Capital Funding

Life Science Start-up Caprotec Bioanalytics Receives Additional Venture Capital Funding
1/14/2008

BERLIN, Germany, January 14, 2008 – Caprotec Bioanalytics GmbH receives a total of EUR 6 million ($8.8M) in two rounds of financing from Creathor Venture, IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft, ERP Startfonds and well-known private investors for further development and marketing of the Company’s proprietary CCMS platform technology for analyzing complex protein mixtures.. The private investors include Prof. Dr. Heinrich-Maria Schulte, Co-founder of Evotec AG and owner of the Wölbern Bank in Hamburg, Germany.

Caprotec’s CCMS (Capture Compound Mass Spectrometry) technology was developed by Prof. Dr. Hubert Köster, founder of Caprotec Bioanalytics GmbH as well as founder of Biosyntech GmbH, the first biotechnology company in Germany, co-founder of US company Milligen/Biosearch and founder of Sequenom (NASDAQ: SQNM).

“With the CCMS platform Prof. Köster has developed a technology that has enormous potential,” said Karlheinz Schmelig, Managing Director at Creathor Venture. “Moreover, as a former founder of several internationally successful biotech companies, Prof. Köster possesses the necessary entrepreneurial know-how.”

“The CCMS technology isolates proteins directly and selectively from a complex cellular environment,” said Prof. Köster, founder and CEO of Caprotec Bioanalytics. “Our platform closes a technological gap in the field of proteome analysis with its ability to be applied both in water-soluble and membrane protein mixtures.”

In the centre of the CCMS technology are small, tri-functional molecules called capture compounds (CCs). They enable a targeted isolation of proteins or protein classes directly from the complex biological sample. After isolation the captured proteins are identified and characterized by mass spectrometry. CCMS technology is complementary to 2D gel electrophoresis and affinity chromatography. The CCs function as chemical probes detecting proteins directly in solution and thereby closing a technological gap. CCMS offers a general solution to investigate the interactions of small molecules (selectivity function) with the proteome.

The demand in the protein analysis sector is rapidly increasing. According to experts the expected annual market growth is upwards of 20%. The isolation of certain proteins plays a key role in drug development, enabling the analysis of interactions between drug molecules and proteins. By conducting protein analysis diseases can be diagnosed at an early stage and therapies can be optimized.

About Caprotec Bioanalytics GmbH Caprotec Bioanalytics GmbH was founded by Prof. Dr. Hubert Köster in Berlin in 2006. The focus of the Company is on commercializing the CCMS technology developed by Prof. Köster in the areas of proteomics, drug development and development of protein biomarkers. The Company holds a vast portfolio of 10 US and 25 international patents of which 16 are already granted (US, CA, EP, DE, GB, AU, JP, SG). The technology has been validated through proof-of-principle experiments in all three fields of application. Caprotec is supported by an international scientific advisory board including a Nobel Laureate.

Contact: Caprotec Bioanalytics GmbH Prof. Dr. Hubert Köster Max-Dohrn-Str. 10 10589 Berlin Tel. +49 30 345 069 97-0 Fax +49 30 345 069 97-9 Mobile +49 162 9286 952 Email: hubert.koester@caprotec.com [1] www.caprotec.com [2]