NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Good Start Genetics today announced the initial closing of a Series B Preferred Stock financing that raised $14 million.
The funds will be used to support commercialization efforts of the Cambridge, Mass.-based firm's screening tests and to support R&D work to develop its proprietary platform technology for future applications, it said.
Existing investors OrbiMed Advisors, Safeguard Scientifics, and SV Life Sciences led the financing round.
Good Start is using next-generation sequencing technology to develop tests for all American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics recommended disorders, it said. The company raised $18 million in a Series A round in 2010.
The firm today also announced several new hires and promotions. The new hires include Jean Franchi as CFO. He was previously at Genyzme, where he held several senior business positions, including senior vice president of corporate finance.
The firm also hired Paul Ethridge as VP of human resources and Laura Sullivan as VP of customer care and reimbursement.
Gregory Porreca, a founder of Good Start, was promoted to VP of R&D. He co-developed with Danaher Motion Dover the Polonator high-throughput DNA sequencer, and co-developed a next-gen sequencing platform that Applied Biosystems, now part of Life Technologies, eventually developed into the SOLiD system.
Additionally, Stephanie Hallam was promoted to VP of laboratory operations and medical director. She previously was VP of operations and quality systems at Allegro Diagnostics, director of clinical operations at Genzyme Genetics, and laboratory director at Athena Diagnostics, Kimball Genetics, and the University of Utah.