Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Mini Mass Spec Firm 908 Devices Files for IPO

NEW YORK — 908 Devices, a developer of miniature mass spectrometers, last week filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to go public on the Nasdaq market.

The Boston, Massachusetts-based company did not specify the number of shares it plans to offer or give a price range for the proposed initial public offering. Cowen and SVB Leerink will act as lead book-running managers for the proposed offering.

908 was founded in 2012 to commercialize technology developed by Michael Ramsey, a professor of chemistry at the University of North Carolina and the company's scientific founder and a member of its board. Its core technologies include microfluidic capillary-electrophoresis systems for upfront separation of samples and high-pressure mass spec analyzers that are able to operate without the vacuum conditions used in conventional systems, allowing for much smaller and cheaper instruments.

While 908 initially focused on military, hazmat, and hydrocarbon processing applications, it has in recent years made inroads into life sciences markets placing instruments with a number of pharma firms and academic institutions.

The company said it planned to use the proceeds from the offering to expand its commercial operations and sales of its systems and to fund research and development to extend the applications of its existing devices and develop new ones.

908 posted $18 million in revenues in 2019 and $21.2 million in the first three quarters of 2020. As of Sept. 30, 2020, it had cash of  $19.7 million.

The company's CEO is Kevin Knopp, formerly co-founder of Ahura Scientific, which was acquired by Thermo Fisher Scientific in 2010.

The Scan

RNA Editing in Octopuses Seems to Help Acclimation to Shifts in Water Temperature

A paper in Cell reports that octopuses use RNA editing to help them adjust to different water temperatures.

Topical Compound to Block EGFR Inhibitors May Ease Skin Toxicities, Study Finds

A topical treatment described in Science Translational Medicine may limit skin toxicities seen with EGFR inhibitor therapy.

Dozen Genetic Loci Linked to Preeclampsia Risk in New GWAS

An analysis of genome-wide association study data in JAMA Cardiology finds genetic loci linked to preeclampsia that have ties to blood pressure.

Cancer Survival Linked to Mutational Burden in Pan-Cancer Analysis

A pan-cancer paper appearing in JCO Precision Oncology suggests tumor mutation patterns provide clues for predicting cancer survival that are independent of other prognostic factors.