Developer of system for decontaminating tissue gets investors.Clearant Inc., a Los Angeles biotech startup, has scored $18 million in new venture capital financing To start an own company or to bring a new product to the market, the venture may need to attract financial funding. There are several categories of financing possibilities. If it is a small venture, then perhaps the venture can rely on family funding, loans from friends on the strength of a technology that kills bacteria and other bugs in skin and other implantable human tissues. The four-year-old company, which is considering an IPO (Initial Public Offering) The first time a company offers shares of stock to the public. While not a computer term per se, many founders, employees and insiders of computer companies have found this acronym more exciting than any tech term they ever heard. as early as next year, received the funding in a series B financing round completed this month largely supported by new, undisclosed institutional investors. The company had previously raised $12 million in angel financing and $15 million in a series A round as it works to broaden the application of its technology, said Terren Peizer, chairman and chief executive. "The key to our technology is that we inactivate in·ac·ti·vate v. 1. To render nonfunctional. 2. To make quiescent. in·ac  ti·va pathogens--not only the ones we know hut the ones we don't know Don't know (DK, DKed)"Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. ," Peizer said. The company's technology received a boost, according to biotech industry reports, following the death of a Minnesota man in 2001 from an infection after routine knee surgery. The infection was later traced to cadaver cadaver /ca·dav·er/ (kah-dav´er) a dead body; generally applied to a human body preserved for anatomical study.cadav´ericcadav´erous ca·dav·er n. tissue used in the surgery. Current practices in the industry involve washing down tissue in a clean environment, which does not guarantee sterility. By contrast, Clearant's technology involves the use of gamma rays to irradiate irradiate /ir·ra·di·ate/ (i-rad´e-at) to treat with radiant energy. ir·ra·di·ate v. 1. To expose to radiation, as for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes. 2. human tissue, killing bacteria, viruses and other pathogens without destroying the tissue, Peizer said. The company's business model calls for transferring the process to third parties, such as human tissue recovery and processing companies, with milestone and continuous royalty payments. While first focusing on the market for skin, ligaments and other cadaver tissues, Clearant is also in the process of expanding to other users. Its process can be employed to destroy infectious agents in blood products such as plasma, as well as certain therapeutic proteins. The company says it can be used on products after they have been packaged, further ensuring their safety. Most recently, DCI (Display Control Interface) An Intel/Microsoft programming interface for full-motion video and games in Windows. It allowed applications to take advantage of video accelerator features built into the display adapter. Donor Services, an established tissue processing organization based in Nashville, and LifeTek, a tissue processing startup, have cut deals to use the process. Previously, the company announced a similar deal with the non-profit Tissue Banks International of Baltimore. |
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