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12:17 EST Thursday St. Louis - genomics company gets funding for 'revolutionary' - research Beth Miller
GenoMed has completed its acquisition of St. Louis-based Genomic Medicine LLC.
As part of the deal, Genomic Medicine, backed by venture capital firm Research Capital in Sarasota, Fla., will get an initial investment of $2 million to $6 million in the first year, based on the performance of the company. In addition, Genomic Medicine's sole shareholder, Dr. David Moskowitz, a St. Louis-area nephrologist, receives 12.5 million shares of GenoMed's common stock (Pink Sheets: GMED).
The company currently employs six scientists, mathematicians and business people at its facility on Clayton Avenue, and plans to add at least six more employees over the next year.
In addition, GenoMed will give additional stock based on certain performance incentives, including achieving certain profit levels, becoming listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange, or being acquired by a biotech firm for at least $100 million in cash or stock.
Craig Hall, of Research Capital, and the company's investor relations representative, said Moskowitz was not necessarily interested in money. "He was looking for venture capital to make his dream come true - of helping people," Hall said.
Hall said Moskowitz is working to develop a "genomic chip" that would contain all disease genes and eventually be used to identify diseases in people before they develop, and potentially delay or prevent the disease from developing. Moskowitz worked for several years at the Veterans Administration Hospital with patients with type-2 diabetes, hypertension and renal disease.
"I think that this is a company that will cause ripples throughout the whole medical community," Hall said. "With the information about the human genome discovered, we are set for a revolution and a whole new era in medicine."
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