Genomatix Corporation Relocates to Southwestern Virginia

Roanoke, Virginia (June 11, 2004). The Carilion Biomedical Institute (CBI) is pleased to announce that Genomatix Corporation, a genetic materials manufacturing company has recently relocated to southwestern Virginia. The company’s production will take place in Roanoke, while research and development will take place at Virginia Tech’s Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg. Genomatix was previously located in Cincinnati, Ohio and has relocated to the region after a $925,000 early stage financial investment round by members of the Roanoke-New River Valley Fund, angel investors and company management.

The privately held biotech company performs flexible manufacturing of DNA vectors. These highly complex genetic molecules are used by the global life sciences industry to reprogram the biological activity of cells. Genetic reprogramming plays an increasingly important role in disease research, advanced drug therapies, agriculture, biosecurity, and production of vaccines, antibodies, industrial enzymes and other recombinant proteins. Genomatix specializes in producing combinatorial sets of DNA vectors that can be used for comparative transgenic studies in cell lines and organisms.

The Carilion Biomedical Institute played an instrumental role in relocating the company including sourcing appropriate financial investors, management talent and real-estate. “I couldn’t be more pleased that Genomatix has relocated to the region. CBI’s goal is to attract more life science companies to southwestern Virginia. We are doing this by connecting early stage companies to highly valuable resources including capital, university research assets, industrial partners and to one of the largest healthcare systems in Virginia, the Carilion Health System. We can give young companies exactly what they need: cash, research, management talent, and manufacturing and sales connections”, states CBI’s CEO, Daniel Barchi.

According to Thomas D. Reed, Ph.D., Genomatix Chairman and Chief Science Officer, the company has spent almost two years considering relocation options in the Eastern United States. “We selected the Roanoke/Blacksburg area for several reasons,” said Reed. “Many of our existing and potential customer and partnering relationships are located within an extended life sciences corridor that runs from Upper New Jersey, south to the Atlanta/Birmingham area.  Roanoke positions us close to the middle of that corridor, with the added advantage of being in direct proximity to Virginia Tech and UVA-Charlottesville, both of which are very strong life sciences institutions.”  Reed continued, “We have also been highly impressed with the welcoming response we received from Virginia’s state and local leadership, as well as the regional investment community. Everyone made it clear that companies like Genomatix are a key part of Virginia’s long-term plan for building a very robust life sciences economy.” Reed concluded, “We also couldn’t help being attracted to the natural beauty of Southwestern Virginia. All of us are excited to be here and enjoy our first summer in the Roanoke, New River Valley region.” Genomatix CEO, Robert P. Beech, said the relocation went smoothly. “Genomatix is already back in action and manufacturing DNA vector combinations for our growing base of global customers.”

The Carilion Biomedical Institute (biomedicalinstitute.com) is dedicated to improving the health and lives of people worldwide by partnering with scientists, researchers, and the medical and business communities to create major advances in healthcare. CBI’s goals are to foster biomedical research at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, commercialize the most promising projects resulting from this research and to promote economic development in southwestern Virginia. Interested parties with biomedical business plans or concepts should contact the institute directly through biomedicalinstitute.com.

The Carilion Health System (carilion.com) is a $1.4 billion comprehensive integrated healthcare system with nine not-for-profit hospitals, 61 physician practices and primary care centers. Headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, Carilion’s mission is to improve the health of the communities it serves.

Genomatix Corporation (genomatix.com) is a genetic materials manufacturing company provides contract manufacturing services for the production of complex DNA vectors that are used as the essential genetic component for a wide variety of life science applications. Genomatix’s specialty involves the flexible manufacturing of vector sets that can be used for comparative analysis of transgenic cells and organisms.

The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center (vtcrc.com) is home to over 100 companies engaged in leading-edge research in diverse areas of technology including agriculture, biotechnology, design automation, diagnostics, electronics, engineering, environmental engineering, information technology, library science, materials and chemistry and transportation. The CRC is located adjacent to Virginia Tech, the largest research university in Virginia and among the top 50 in the nation. Tech conducts over $175 million per year in advanced research and ranks 4th in the U.S. in patents, 10th in licenses, and 13th in royalty income for universities without medical schools.

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