SAN DIEGO/Feb. 3, 2003 - Comerica (NYSE: CMA), a leading financial services company, and Genoptix, Inc., a developer of high-speed optical technologies for cellular analysis, announced today that Comerica’s Technology and Life Sciences Division has provided Genoptix with a $2.5 million credit facility. The funds include a $1 million revolving credit line and a $1.5 million equipment facility.
"We are pleased to provide this credit facility to Genoptix, which has developed an innovative technology to investigate the biological properties of living cells," said Chris Woolley, senior vice president and managing director of Comerica’s Pacific Southwest Technology and Life Sciences Division. "Our life sciences specialists understand the unique opportunities offered by companies like Genoptix, and thus we can offer the financial products and services they need."
Genoptix’s proprietary technology, OptophoresisTM, allows cells to be analyzed, sorted and ultimately collected for future use, enabling new approaches in clinical diagnostics, life sciences research and discovery applications. The company is initially targeting clinical diagnostic applications in personalized medicine and oncology, although the technology is well suited for use in many products and applications. Genoptix investors include Alliance Technology Ventures, Enterprise Partners, Kingsbury Capital Partners, Lotus Bioscience Investment Holdings, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi International Corporation, Tullis-Dickerson & Co., Inc. and U.S. Trust’s Excelsior Venture Partners III, LLC.
"We appreciate the fact that Comerica is knowledgeable about the life sciences sector and we were impressed with their professionalism and responsiveness," said Tina Nova, Ph.D., Genoptix’s president, CEO and founder. "We are working toward becoming the leader in the area of cellular analysis, and this credit facility will help us to build on our research and development work as we explore new market opportunities and expand our growing intellectual property portfolio."
About Genoptix
Genoptix, Inc. (www.genoptix.com), headquartered in San Diego, CA, is building a revolutionary biomedical platform technology, which utilizes moving waves of light to investigate the biological properties of living cells. The technology, OptophoresisTM, probes the intrinsic characteristics of live, whole cells without potential artifacts from tags, labels, dyes or other forms of markers, and captures the full range of cellular responses. Optophoresis is the only technology capable of simultaneously analyzing and isolating specific cells based on fundamental differences between cell types and their responses and interactions with their environment. Through the use of Optophoresis, cells may be analyzed, sorted and collected for further use, enabling new approaches in clinical diagnostics and research and discovery applications.
About Comerica’s Technology and Life Sciences Division
Comerica’s Technology and Life Sciences Division is one of the nation’s leading technology banking practices, offering a wide range of financial services tailored to corporate customers, entrepreneurs and professionals. Veteran bankers provide credit and financial services and products to young, growing, professionally backed technology and life sciences companies, as well as their more mature counterparts. From 19 offices located across the U.S., Comerica’s Technology and Life Sciences Division serves all major technology centers. Comerica is among the 20 largest banking companies in the nation, with $53 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2002.
Media Contacts:
For Genoptix, Inc.:
Linda Seaton/Juling Chao
Mentus, Inc.
(858) 455-5500 x133 / x116
lcs@mentusonline.com/juling@mentusonline.com
or
Tina S. Nova, Ph.D.
Genoptix, Inc.
(858) 523-5000
info@genoptix.com
For Comerica’s Technology and Life Sciences Division:
Adrienne Moch
Pacifico
(619) 291-4645
amoch@pacifico.com
or
Keith Turner
Comerica Bank-California
(408) 556-5111
keith_turner@comerica.com
