NEW YORK, Dec. 17 – Swedish microfluidics company Gyros has raised 309 million krona, $29.5 million, in a second round of private financing.
The investors included 3i, the Swedish Industrial Development Fund, InnovationsKapital, and H&B Capital. In addition, existing investors such as Investor AB, the National Pension Insurance Fund, Karolinska Investment Fund, HealthCap, and the Swedish Union of Clerical and Technical Employees in Industry, have increased their contributions.
"We are now set to continue commercialization and ramp up our development of new products," Maris Hartmanis, CEO of Gyros, said in a statement.
The Stockholm-based company has developed a platform in which routine or non-routine laboratory processes can be miniaturized and embedded into application-specific CDs. Hundreds of samples can be processed in parallel on these disposable microlaboratories.
Gyros said that it would launch its first product in the proteomics sector in early 2002.
The company also said that Ron Long, a former CEO of Amersham Biosciences, would be invited to join Gyros’ board of directors. Gyros was spun off from Amersham Biosciences in 2000 and now has more than 80 employees.