Precision Therapeutics on the South Side is in the money again.
The South Side life sciences company has raised another $33 million from investors this month to fund growth, hiring and further product development. In the next year or so, in fact, the company will most likely double in size, says Sean McDonald, CEO. The company currently employs 240 and will be hiring various technical positions.
The latest round brings the total amount of capital raised by Precision to more than $100 million since it was founded, although McDonald wasn't sure of the exact figure. Investors included Adams Capital Management, Birchmere Investors, Hillman Co. and outside investors Quaker BioVentures in Philadelphia and Bain Capital, a Boston-based firm that is the only newcomer to Precision among the group.
The company is also opening new offices in the Chocolate Factory in Lawrenceville. Precision will remain focused on cancers and identifying therapies that will be most effective for patients. The flagship product, ChemoFx, is a cell-based test that examines the likelihood of a patient's tumor response to a broad range of existing, novel and combination chemotherapies.
A new product for breast cancer is in clinical trial now and should be ready by late 2011, adds McDonald. There is no funding shortage in the region for companies that are well managed, he adds.
"People will come in and obviously invest in this region for a good plan and good management," says McDonald. "We have outstanding technical people and outstanding medical centers; you can't duplicate that in a lot of towns. We've been able to build a good team here."
Writer:
Debra Diamond SmitSource: Sean McDonald, Precision Therapeutics
Sign up to receive Pop City every week.
Image of Sean McDonald courtesy of Precision Therapeutics