Althea Technologies' series C financing to fund expansion project.

Althea Technologies Inc. received $23 million in series C financing this month from San Francisco-based Telegraph Hill Partners.

The fast-growing firm provides manufacturing, discovery and gene expression services, among others, to life sciences companies.

Chief Financial Officer Gary Gilmore said Althea, founded in 1998, will use some of the money to expand its Sorrento Valley offices by 28,000 square feet to 75,000 square feet. The company's 105 employees occupy two buildings now and will work out of three after the expansion (all on the same campus).

"The rest will be a treasure chest of funds for strategic purposes like potential acquisitions of other technologies or licensing," Gilmore said.

Gilmore would not disclose financial information on the private company; but said the percentage in revenue growth from 2005 to 2006 was record-breaking.

That's impressive, considering that Althea was named to Deloitte & Touche's San Diego Technology Fast 50 list in 2005. Those 50 firms were ranked based on revenue growth of the previous five years.

While Althea's revenues extend largely from the services it offers, its flagship product is its patented eXpress Profiling gene expression system.

With so many life sciences firms taking the initial public offering plunge earlier than ever before, one might wonder why Althea has not opted for the public pathway.

Gilmore said the firm has no plans to go public at this time, adding, "The company is clearly on a solid growth track."