The Russians are coming!
RUSNANO is investing $4.5 million in a project to expand the production of tagless biodetectors and bionoslides developed by the American company BiOptix Diagnostics, Inc. The co-investors of the project were American venture funds Boulder Ventures Ltd., Peierls Foundation and a number of private investors who invested the same amount in the authorized capital of the company. The total budget of the project, approved by the Supervisory Board of RUSNANO in December 2010, amounted to $ 19 million.
The structure of the transaction assumes the entry of RUSNANO into the capital of the American company, while a significant part of the investment over several years will be directed to the creation in Russia of the production of disposable consumable bionanoslides – glass substrates coated with precision metal and biofunctional nanofilms. In addition, a research laboratory will be created in Russia, which will further improve key technologies and develop new applications together with scientists from the scientific and educational center of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology "Bionanophysics".
The unique patented biodetection technology, developed by BiOptix Diagnostics, Inc. together with the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics winner Dr. John Hall and used in devices, allows not only to determine the presence of a bioreaction, but also to directly determine its kinetic parameters in real time. Measuring the kinetic constants of bimolecular reactions is very important for a comprehensive study of promising candidate molecules for innovative drugs. In addition, measurements carried out using BiOptix biodetectors do not require a preliminary step of attaching a fluorescent or isotope label to the studied molecules, which allows previously inaccessible studies to be carried out, as well as saving time and reagents.
The low purchase and operation price, compactness, ease of maintenance and reliability of BiOptix biodetectors will allow them to occupy a significant share of the rapidly developing global market of tagless technologies for detecting molecular interactions. The project's products are in demand in laboratories, pharmaceutical companies, universities and research institutes around the world and contribute to accelerating and improving the efficiency of developments in the field of innovative pharmaceuticals.
"We are pleased to see RUSNANO as an investor and partner of BiOptix," says Richard Whitcomb, President and CEO of Bioptix. "RUSNANO's participation in the project will accelerate the process of building a successful business and allow us to connect to new markets and resources that were inaccessible to us in the past."
"RUSNANO has cooperated with high-tech companies in the USA before, but this is the first time our company has invested directly in an American legal entity. We are proud to be a part of such a great innovation story. I believe that Bioptix products will be able to open up new horizons for the development of promising medicines," RUSNANO Managing Director Yevgeny Evdokimov emphasizes.
And one more news: RUSNANO USA, Inc., a subsidiary of OAO RUSNANO, started its work on March 23 in a new office in Silicon Valley (3000 Sand Hill Rd, 1-145 Menlo Park, CA 94025 USA).
RUSNANO USA represents the interests of JSC RUSNANO and its design companies in the USA and Canada, and also promotes the promotion of Russian nanotechnology products to world markets.
Dmitry Akhanov welcomes the guests of the new office,
RUSNANO Director for Cooperation with companies in the USA and Canada
RUSNANO USA cooperates with American venture and private equity funds, high-tech companies, universities and technology transfer centers that are interested in implementing joint projects with RUSNANO. The company holds road-shows, meetings, negotiations, as well as marketing research and other events aimed at finding and attracting new projects in the field of nanotechnology. RUSNANO USA contractors can be RUSNANO design companies that promote their products to American markets, are looking for partners and objects for mergers and acquisitions in the USA and Canada.
"American venture funds and potential project applicants are showing great interest in RUSNANO. Opening an office in the heart of Silicon Valley will make our communication daily – this is important in such a lively and dynamic area as investing in high–tech projects," said Dmitry Akhanov, Director of RUSNANO for interaction with companies in the USA and Canada and President of RUSNANO USA.
The RUSNANO office, together with the offices of the Russian Venture Company and the Skolkovo Foundation, is part of the Russian Innovation Center, which is located in the center of Silicon Valley, not far from Stanford University. "The joint work of the offices will allow us to get the maximum effect from the work of Russian development institutions operating in different fields and at different stages of the innovation chain in the USA," Dmitry Akhanov added.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru according to the materials of the RUSNANO press service
24.03.2011