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SENOMYX INC. RAISES $12,275,000 IN ONE OF THE LARGEST INITIAL FINANCINGS IN THE BIOTECHNOLOGY FIELD IN 1999
SAN DIEGO (October 25, 1999) – Senomyx Inc., (formerly Ambryx Inc).announced today the completion of a $12,275,000 private placement of Series A preferred stock. The placement represents one of the largest initial rounds of financing for a company in the biotechnology field in 1999. These funds will be used to further establish the Company's discovery engine for novel molecules that enhance the world of fragrance and flavor and other technologies to enrich consumer experiences.
The private placement was led by Bay City Capital. Other participants in the round included Domain Associates, Prospect Venture Partners, Kingsbury Capital, Rho Management Company, and a group of individual investors including the Company's founders, Dr. Lubert Stryer and Paul A. Grayson.
"We intend to launch a new era of discovery for products that can impact the greater humanity beyond medical therapeutics," said Paul Grayson, president and chief executive officer of Senomyx. "The success of our financing acknowledges the potential for proprietary discovery technology to profoundly impact how people experience the world through chemosensation, particularly taste and olfaction."
"Senomyx combines a powerful mix of exceptional scientific and business talent and a truly novel business opportunity," said Lori Robson, vice president of Bay City Capital LLC. "The substantial over-subscription of this early stage financing reflects the excitement of leveraging genomics and molecular biology into a new industry through fragrance and flavor."
Senomyx is dedicated to becoming the world leader in the discovery and commercialization of products and services relevant to chemosensation in a broad range of markets including consumer food, cosmetic, therapeutic, household, agricultural and industrial applications. The Company is assembling a matrix of technologies including proprietary chemoreceptors and expression systems involved in the detection, quantification and perception of modulators of taste, olfaction and other sensory modalities.
Senomyx has a number of exclusive agreements in this area with various universities including the University of California, The Rockefeller University, Johns Hopkins University, and Harvard University. Senomyx will utilize a range of recent advances in cellular and molecular biology, genomics, combinatorial chemistry, biomolecular screening, informatics and other areas to create a new type of biotechnology company. Senomyx aims to enrich the quality of life for consumers through the development of revolutionary technology for the senses.
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