Paradigm Genetics Wins $12M Venture Financing

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC--Paradigm Genetics, founded here in September 1997 by four former Novartis Crop Protection managers, closed its first round of financing with a $6 million preferred-stock equity offering and $6 million in venture lease financing. The agricultural biotechnology company said it will develop new products and pursue collaborations with major agriculture and chemical companies. Investors included Intersouth Partners of Durham, NC; Polaris Venture Partners of Boston; and the Innotech Investments, based in the UK.