Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Lab21, a specialist diagnostic services and products healthcare company has closed a £2.2m round of financing

What Company Is Offering:
Lab21 is a global provider of state-of-the-art diagnostic products and services, supporting drug discovery and healthcare. Its customers include healthcare providers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

The Company has a growing test portfolio providing companion diagnostics and high technology assays for the growing integration of personalised medicine into healthcare. These services and products are currently in infectious diseases, oncology and pharmacogenetics areas with emerging interests in cardiovascular and metabolic disease.

Lab21's clinical reference laboratory and corporate office is based in Cambridge, UK and the Company's investors include Merlin Biosciences and Kreos Capital


How Much They Got From VCs:

Lab21, a specialist diagnostic services and products healthcare company is pleased to announce that it has closed a £2.2m round of financing from leading international private equity investors. The new funds will be used to progress its acquisition plan and to establish its US operations in South Carolina to expand its presence in the North American market.

Graham Mullis, CEO of Lab21 commented: “Given the very difficult financial markets of the past 6 months, I am delighted to welcome two new investors to Lab21 which is a significant endorsement to the growth strategy of Lab21. With new capital, we anticipate closing a number of company acquisitions. This investment will also allow Lab21 to commence its expansion plans overseas where we believe our brand and strong focus on quality and service will be well received”.

Nexus Medical Partners, based in Boston and South Carolina, USA and Rowan Dartington of the UK join Merlin Biosciences and Kreos capital as shareholders. Maddy Kennedy, CFO Lab21 explained: “I am pleased to be working with investors who understand healthcare markets and diagnostics specifically. Merlin Biosciences, now part of the Excalibur Group have continued to support Lab21 and advised the Company with this finance round. We are also delighted that Dr Ed Snape, who is co-founder and head of the healthcare practice at Nexus Medical Partners has agreed to join the Board of Lab21”

Dr Snape commented: “I am pleased to accept the Board position at Lab21 and support the establishment of its South Carolina operations to facilitate its entry into the US market. The diagnostic market is changing rapidly and Lab21 is well placed with its management and product portfolio to be a serious consolidator in the sector. Lab21’s business model which combines the technology and distribution capabilities of both a service provider and product developer makes for an exciting investment opportunity.”

Jonathan Beatson-Hird, Managing Director of Rowan Dartington and also fund manager for the Isambard Fund, said: “Our strategy has been to build our investment portfolio around three sectors, one of which is the In vitro diagnostics market. This is a dynamic industry displaying strong defensive characteristics. We are delighted to be able to invest in Lab 21 which is a core holding for us. We believe that the current economic environment is ideal for the corporate strategy of consolidation and with their state of the art products and services makes the company well positioned for growth in these uncertain times.”

The Company will not reveal details of its acquisition plans and US market strategy today but expects to complete on two European company acquisitions during H1 next year.


More at:www.lab21.com

Motion Computing®, a leader in mobile computing and wireless communications has received funding of $6 million

What Company Is Offering:

Motion Computing is a mobile computing and wireless communications leader, combining world-class innovation and industry experience so professionals in vertical industries such as healthcare, field sales and service and government can use computing technology in new ways and places. The company’s enhanced line of tablet PCs, mobile clinical assistants and accessories are designed to increase productivity for on-the-go users while providing portability, security, power and versatility. Motion combines those products with services and unique vertical market knowledge to deliver robust solutions – platforms, peripherals, services and wireless – customized for the needs of a particular industry.

Motion Computing and Motion are registered trademarks of Motion Computing, Inc., in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.

How Much They Got From VCs:

Motion Computing®, a leader in mobile computing and wireless communications, announced today that it has received funding of $6 million from New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), G-51 Capital, and other new investors. The funds will be used to drive continued expansion into the healthcare market and support international growth opportunities.

NEA, an investor in Motion’s earlier funding rounds, is a leading venture capital firm focused on the information technology and healthcare sectors and has funded approximately 550 companies to date. IVP, one of the premier later-stage venture capital firms and previous investor in Motion is also participating in the current funding round, as is Austin-based G-51 Capital.


What VCs Says About Company:

“Since our first investment in Motion we have watched it develop through the introduction of innovative products and solutions, establishing a leadership position in the markets it serves,” said Paul Hsiao, NEA Partner. “We are committed to helping the company build on its success.”

“Motion continues to bring cutting-edge solutions and products to the healthcare industry and we are pleased to be able to assist in Motion’s continued expansion,” said Norm Fogelsong, IVP General Partner.

The Motion® C5 is the world’s first Mobile Clinical Assistant (MCA), now deployed in more than 4,000 healthcare organizations worldwide. Additionally, Motion recently entered new markets with the F5 rugged field tool, which is being used across vertical industries that require a highly durable device in a lightweight and portable design.

Motion provides mobile computing products and services for the healthcare industry and across other vertical markets, and is the leading provider of slate tablet PCs, with more than 40 percent market share worldwide, according to the IDC Market Analysis, Worldwide Tablet PC 2007-2011 Forecast. Founded in 2001, Motion has relationships with hundreds of valued software and hardware partners worldwide, and sells through over 1300 leading resellers in 25 countries across North America, Europe, Australia, Asia and the Middle East.


More at: www.motioncomputing.com

Exalead CloudView automatically collects, structures and contextualizes high volumes of unstructured and structured content

What Company Is Offering:
Exalead CloudView automatically collects, structures and contextualizes high volumes of unstructured and structured content scattered across the enterprise information cloud, helping customers around the globe improve information search, discovery, management, security, and storage.

Unique Features:

CloudView provides unified, universal access to unstructured and structured content from virtually any source inside or outside your firewall, breaking down knowledge silos and tapping into new content resources.

CloudView's advanced semantic technologies automatically analyze, categorize, enhance and align structured and unstructured data, enabling unprecedented options for global information search, access and display.

The powerful CloudView text analytics connect the dots in the enterprise cloud, revealing hidden meanings and relationships in data, powering more successful search and discovery, and enabling fully contextualized, 360° views of your data.

CloudView's modular, service-oriented architecture (SOA) provides endless flexibility in accessing, searching and exploring your complete, contextualized data. You can deploy Exalead's award-winning, out-of-the-box search interface, or you can create completely customized search interfaces, content presentations and smart applications to meet specialized business needs.

More at:

Podango----Where Marketers And Show Producers Come To Get Heard

What Company Is Offering:
Podango lets podcasters host and manage their own shows or stations using the company’s hosting, syndication, audience measurement and Web site creation tools. The company also offers publishers an embeddable podcast player for use in websites. Hosting their programs at Podango for free, station owners earn income by sharing advertising revenue from the aggregate of Podango-hosted stations. Podango also owns and operates a state-of-the-art production studio in the Bay Area.

How It Works:

Publishers: The Podango Network offers a robust suite of services spanning production, hosting, distribution and monetization through a 50/50 revenue share on advertising.

Advertisers/Marketers: Podango stations enable advertisers to access today’s hard-to-reach, niche audiences and align their marketing messages with highly relevant content. The network’s 1,000+ shows give advertisers a tool for identifying and targeting enthusiasts to build awareness and foster brand evangelism.

Listeners/Viewers: Podango’s wide-ranging content stations afford listeners a wide choice of episodic video and audio programs mapped to individual tastes and interests, no matter how specific or diverse.

PLATFORM TOOLS Podango’s exclusive “P2 Platform” tools enable publishers to deliver a fully integrated experience to their audiences. Publishers can seamlessly embed media across Web sites. Advertising and performance measurement tools help publishers monitor the effectiveness of their stations.

More at: http://www.podango.com/

MarCom Is Marketing Community With Ranked News, Articles, Blogs, Tips

What Company Is Offering:
MarCom (mar.com) is a comprehensive web 2.0 community for offline and online markers with ranked news, articles and advice. Network with other online marketers and find out the latest in digital marketing, search engine optimization and advertising, social media marketing, online advertising, blogging, affiliate marketing and more.

More at:http://mar.com/