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[news 2001-2002]
PARTEQ spinoff receives
$13 m in second-round financing
June 21, 2001
KINGSTON, ON -- Molecular Mining Corporation, a Kingston-based
PARTEQ spinoff company specializing in data mining products
and services for the life sciences industry, has received
$13 million ($8M US) in second-round financing. The
investment was led by CDP Sofinov, a subsidiary of the
Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec (CDP), with participating
investors including Queen's Working Ventures CMDF Scientific
Breakthrough Fund, and the Business Development Bank
of Canada, as well as inaugural investors S.R. One,
a subsidiary of GlaxoSmithKline, and Cardinal Partners.
The funding allows the leading-edge bioinformatics company
to speed up commercialization of its data mining products
and services, and to double its size over the next year.
Earlier this year the company launched its first software
product, MMC Genelinker Gold TM, which helps companies
do their own data mining. Currently the firm employs
30 people.
"Molecular Mining is an example of how a spinoff
can be created based on intellectual property arising
from university research in a way that drives economic
development," says John Molloy, President and CEO
of PARTEQ Innovations. " The company is well positioned
to be a world leader in the field."
Molecular Mining Corporation was founded by PARTEQ Innovations,
the technology-transfer arm of Queen's University, with
researchers from the Departments of Chemistry and Computing
Science at Queen's University, and a researcher from
the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The company
combines computer science and artificial intelligence
with chemistry and biology to create advanced tools
for extracting knowledge from vast stores of data, accelerating
the development and discovery of new drugs.
Queen's Working Ventures CMDF Scientific Breakthrough
Fund is a $7-million venture capital fund, focusing
on helping build leading-edge companies. Established
as a partnership between Queen's University, Working
Ventures Canadian Fund, and the Canadian Medical Discoveries
Fund, and managed by PARTEQ, the fund invests in enterprises
formed by Queen's researchers and graduates looking
to commercialize research discoveries.
John Molloy, President and CEO, PARTEQ Innovations
Phone: (613) 533-2342
Email: molloyj@post.queensu.ca
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