Auxogyne, Inc. , a privately held company focused on the advancement of women’s reproductive health, today announced the closing of the final tranche of its Series A funding, bringing the total funding to $20 million. The initial tranche was placed in May 2010 and the investors in the round included Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, TPG Biotech and Merck Serono Ventures.
“Over the last year, we have put in place an aggressive operational plan in preparation for the commercialization of our first product, Eeva. Importantly, we expect to release data from our five-site, 150-patient clinical study in the months ahead that will then be used as part of our regulatory filings in Europe and the United States,” said Lissa Goldenstein, President and Chief Executive Officer of Auxogyn.
“In evaluating investments across the medical technology field, we were impressed by Auxogyn’s unique approach to bringing scientific rigor and data analytics backed by a robust portfolio of intellectual property and top-notch clinical consultants to a market in desperate need of improved results,” said Mark Gudiksen, Ph.D. D. D. , Principal of TPG Biotech and Member of the Board of Directors of Auxogyn
“As a leader in fertility, Merck Serono is committed to investing in innovative technologies to improve the chances of successful IVF pregnancy,” said Nilesh Kumar Ph. D. D. , Director of Merck Serono Ventures “This investment reflects our trust in achieving this goal. “That’s right.
“With the development of its first product, the launch of a substantial clinical study and the construction of a sound organizational infrastructure, Auxogyn set the stage for an exciting 2012 springboard to commercialization in the latter half of the year,” said Beth Seidenberg, M. D. D. Partner at Kleiner Perkins Caulfield and Byers and member of the Board of Directors of Auxogyn
On the EevaTM
Auxogyn’s non-invasive early embryo viability assessment (Eeva) system can improve IVF outcomes by providing IVF clinicians and patients with objective information on embryo viability. Eeva’s proprietary software automatically analyzes embryo development against scientifically and clinically validated cell division timing parameters. With Eeva’s quantitative data on the potential development of each embryo, IVF clinicians can optimize the treatment pathway for their patients undergoing IVF procedures.
About Little Perkins Caufield & Byers
Since its founding in 1972, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers has supported entrepreneurs in more than 500 ventures, including AOL, Amazon. Com, Citrix, Compaq, Electronic Arts, Genentech, Genomic Health, Google, Intuit, Juniper Networks, Netscape, Sun, Symantec, Verisign, WebMD, Zynga CPCB portfolio companies employ more than 350,000 people worldwide. More than 150 portfolio companies have become public, and many other KPCB ventures have achieved success through mergers and acquisitions. KPCB focuses its global investments in three areas of practice-digital, green technology and life sciences-and provides entrepreneurs with business-building expertise from its Silicon Valley, Beijing and Shanghai offices.
On TPG Biotech
TPG Biotech is part of TPG’s growth equity and venture investment platform, a global private investment firm. With more than $1 billion under management, TPG Biotech is targeting investment in pharmaceutical discovery and development, medical technology, diagnostics, health and pharmaceutical services, life sciences and industrial applications of biotechnology. TPG Biotech’s investments in personalized medicine and genomics included companies such as Genomic Health, XDx, CardioDx and Veracyte. Visit ppgbiotech Com
