Nanotechnology Now - Press Release: NanoImaging Services Receives $1.5 Million in Venture Funding from Merck Capital Ventures

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Abstract:
Funds to be Used for Expansion of Service Laboratory; NanoImaging Provides High-Resolution 3D Imaging of Large Molecule Biopharmaceuticals

NanoImaging Services Receives $1.5 Million in Venture Funding from Merck Capital Ventures

San Diego, CA | Posted on February 26th, 2008

NanoImaging Services, Inc., the leading provider of high-resolution, three-dimensional (3D) transmission electron microscope (TEM) imaging services to manufacturers of large molecule biopharmaceuticals, announced today that it has completed a round of financing led by Merck Capital Ventures, LLC. The $1.5 million investment will be used to expand the company's service laboratory. NanoImaging Services, currently located in Northern San Diego, will relocate to a larger facility in La Jolla, Calif. next month.

"Advanced TEM imaging allows biopharmaceutical manufacturers to actually see the complex macromolecular structures they create, in three dimensions, with resolution as high as one nanometer," said Clint Potter, NanoImaging's CEO. "It provides powerful visual support for structural characterization and validation throughout the drug development pipeline — promising to shorten development cycles and improve confidence at every stage from discovery, through development and regulatory review, and into long-term quality control and manufacturing process improvement."

"NanoImaging Services has established a unique combination of advanced technology and world-class expertise in large molecule visualization and analysis," said Per Lofberg, President and CEO of Merck Capital Ventures. "With its straightforward commercial service model, and the potential to accelerate candidate development, the company is well-positioned for leadership in supporting the pharmaceutical industry in the field of large molecule biologics."

NanoImaging Services offers a range of services including simple visual inspection; statistical characterization; antibody/labeling experiments; and nanometer-scale, 3D reconstruction. Advanced instrumentation within the laboratory includes a state-of-art Tecnai™ TEM and Vitrobot™ cryo-preservation system from FEI. Advanced cryo techniques preserve delicate biological structures in their native, fully-hydrated state. Clint Potter and Bridget Carragher, NanoImaging's founders, both hold faculty appointments at The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, Calif., where they jointly manage the Automated Molecular Imaging Research Group. They have published extensively on TEM technology and the science it enables.

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About NanoImaging Services, Inc.
NanoImaging Services, Inc. provides transmission electron microscope imaging services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and nanotechnology industries, and specializes in the characterization of large biological molecules used in biopharmaceuticals such as vaccines, antibodies, cytokines, hormones and gene therapies. In contrast to conventional (small molecule) drugs, biopharmaceuticals are typically protein-based and manufactured in controlled, modified, biological systems. Their complexity and similarity to naturally occurring compounds makes a detailed understanding of their structure, and its relationship to their safety and efficacy, essential in their development and approval. Biopharmaceuticals represent an important and rapidly-growing segment of the pharmaceutical industry. For more information, visit www.nanoimagingservices.com.

About Merck Capital Ventures

Merck Capital Ventures (MCV) is a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. MCV seeks to invest capital in emerging businesses in areas related to the commercialization, distribution and delivery of pharmaceuticals and related health care services. The focus of MCV is to invest in technologies that accelerate innovation related to the pharmaceutical business and other sectors of health care delivery.

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Contacts:
NanoImaging Services, Inc.
Clint Potter, 888-675-8261

or
Merck & Co.
Gary Lubin, 908-423-3665

or
MindWrite Communications, Inc.
Sandy Fewkes, 408-224-4024

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