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Venomix Completes First Round Venture Financing
Written by Administrator
Monday, 14 May 2007 00:00
KALAMAZOO, Mich., May 14, 2007 – VENOMIX, Inc. has completed a first round venture financing with Southwestern Michigan First Life Science Venture Fund, the company announced today. VENOMIX is developing proprietary insecticides based on the peptides spiders use to kill their prey. The company will locate in the Southwestern Michigan Innovation Center in Western Michigan University's Business Technology and Research Park. John McIntyre, former president and CEO of Emerald BioAgriculture Corporation in Lansing, Mich., has been named president and CEO of VENOMIX.
"We are delighted to have SWMF Life Science Venture Fund as an investor in VENOMIX," McIntyre said. "This is the second company I've started in Michigan. It's a great state for biotechnology startups and the people at the Venture Fund are extremely knowledgeable and helpful."
Ron Kitchens, chief executive officer of SWMF and general partner of the Life Science Venture Fund said, "We are very pleased to make this announcement of the Venture Fund's fourth investment. VENOMIX is, quite obviously, an interesting company with some very compelling research. They will make a great tenant at the Innovation Center and a fantastic addition to our ever-growing life science cluster."
VENOMIX is developing a new generation of insecticides based on the peptides that spiders use to kill their prey. Work was begun at the University of Connecticut, where the peptides were found to be highly effective against a broad range of insects, yet harmless to humans and other vertebrates, such as dogs and cats. The company is looking at insecticides for agriculture and for non-crop and animal use.
The company will relocate two researchers, one from Calgary and one from Connecticut, to its Kalamazoo location. More technical staff will be added over the next 12 to 18 months.
John L. McIntyre, Ph.D., was most recently president and CEO and a director of Emerald BioAgriculture Corporation in Lansing, Mich. Previously, he held senior management positions with Ecogen, Inc. in Langhorne, Penn., an agricultural biotechnology company that developed and marketed specialty biorational pesticide products. McIntyre has over 30 years experience in agricultural biotechnology. He led the project that resulted in the first registration by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of a biological fungicide. He also led discussions with the EPA that resulted in the first environmental release of a genetically altered microbe without an Experimental Use Permit and its subsequent registration by the EPA.
VENOMIX, Inc. is developing a new generation of insecticides using peptides from spiders. Products under development have a unique mode of action, are highly effective against insects and related pests and are harmless to non-target species, including humans. Target markets include agriculture, animal health and specialty non-crop uses such as household insects. VENOMIX products will be ideally suited for the environmentally conscious twenty-first century.
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