Date: Sep 18, 2012 Source: (
click here to go to the source)
FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
BioFire Diagnostics, Inc. Secures $25 Million Financing
from Athyrium Opportunities Fund
Funds to Drive Growth of FilmArra
y® Molecular Diagnostic Platform
SALT LAKE CITY
, (September 18, 2012) - BioFire Diagnostics,
Inc. today announced its completion of a
$25 million financing with Athyrium Opportunities Fund.
The proceeds from the financing will be used to
accelerate the commercialization of the
Company's FilmArray diagnostic plat
form. Proceeds will also be used
to further develop additional panels
beyond the FDA-cleared, CE IVD ma
rked, FilmArray Respiratory Panel
(RP), which simultaneously tests 17 viral targets and thr
ee bacterial targets in approximately one hour. These
additional panels include, among others, a
blood culture ID panel (currently in
clinical trials),
a gastrointestinal
panel, and a meningitis panel.
Kirk Ririe, Chief Executive Officer of
BioFire, stated, "We are excited to
partner with Athyrium during this
transformative stage of the Company's life. This inve
stment strengthens our alread
y solid capital position and
the Company's ability to further penetrate the molecula
r diagnostics market. The FilmArray Respiratory Panel
is just the first of many exciting panels which will driv
e the utility of the FilmArra
y platform for the medical
community in the coming years."
Richard Pines, a principal of Athyrium, agreed, commenti
ng that "Athyrium believes that BioFire is poised for
significant future growth as hospitals continue to
de-centralize their molecula
r diagnostic workflows and
increasingly demand access to multiplex systems that
can handle their testing throughput. The Company's
current RP panel and robust pipeline of future panels w
ill position BioFire as a leader in clinical diagnostics
arena."
About BioFire Diagnostics, Inc.
BioFire Diagnostics, Inc., formerly Idaho Technology, Inc.
, is a privately held clinical diagnostics company
based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Company manufactures
and distributes the FilmArray RP, which operates on
the user-friendly FilmArray system, to
hospital-based clinical
laboratories across the U.S. and EU. With the
FilmArray RP, BioFire provides the only
FDA-cleared clinical diagnostic test
for eight of the 20 organisms in
its panel. To date, BioFire has over 200 FilmArray RP uni
ts available in over 65 ho
spitals across the U.S and
the EU. In addition, BioFir
e continues to broaden its FilmArray test
menu, and is currently developing a blood
culture ID panel, a gastrointestinal panel, and a meningitis panel.
BioFire holds over 70 patents related to polymerase chai
n reaction (PCR), and it has used its extensive patent
portfolio to successfully market nearly 200 products to
the clinical, research, and military markets. BioFire
customers include the Department of
Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, state and local
law enforcement, and researchers and medical techni
cians across a spectrum of fields and industries.
About Athyrium Opportunities Fund
Athyrium Opportunities Fund ("Athyrium") is a New York
-based fund focusing on investment opportunities in
the global healthcare sector. The Athyrium investment team
has substantial healthcare investment experience
FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
across a wide range of asset classes,
including public equity, private equity
, fixed income, royalties, and other
structured securities. Athyrium invests across healthcar
e verticals, including bioph
arma, medical devices and
products, and healthcare services. The team partners w
ith management teams to implement creative financing
solutions to companies' capital needs.
For further information, please visit
www.BioFireDx.com
.
# # #
Contact:
BioFire Diagnostics, Inc.
Eric Gorrell (investor relations)
General Counsel
801-736-6354 x803
Eric@biofiredx.com
The Ruth Group (on behalf of BioFire Diagnostics)
Victoria Aguiar (media)
646-536-7013
Vaguiar@theruthgroup.com
