|
   
|
|
Aqua
Bounty Technologies Completes First Tranche of $10 Million Financing
Proceeds to Fund Commercialization of lead products AquAdvantage™
Salmon and Shrimp IMS.
July 17, 2003
Waltham, MA – July 17, 2003 – Aqua Bounty Technologies,
Inc., announced today that it has closed on the initial tranche
of its $10 million Series D round of financing. The new investor,
leading the round with an investment of $2.5 million, is SUS,
Inc. SUS, Inc. was introduced to Aqua Bounty Technologies by ITF
Global Partners, a NY based strategic bank.
“The
funding will be used to complete the remaining human food safety
and related studies required by the FDA to approve our lead product,
AquAdvantage™
Salmon, and to bring to market our patented shrimp
immunostimulant, Shrimp IMS. Pending regulatory approval, the
Company could begin commercializing our hybrid salmon as early
as late 2004. Our other lead product, Shrimp IMS, promises to
dramatically reduce the mortality rate in farmed shrimp and could
be ready for market early next year, again, pending FDA approval,
” said Elliot Entis, President and CEO of Aqua Bounty Technologies.
He added that, “We’re still looking for co-investors
to fill out the round. Those additional funds will be used to
expand our pipeline of biotech products for the aquaculture industry.”
Aqua Bounty
Technologies has two categories of products: Improved fish broodstock
that incorporates the Company’s patented AquAdvantage™
advanced-hybrid gene cassette , and veterinary biologics and therapeutics
to enhance both growth rate and disease resistance in shrimp.
The Company’s
AquAdvantage™
salmon, trout, and tilapia are advanced-hybrids
that grow to market size in one-half the time normally required,
with food-conversion rates that are 10-30% better than their traditional
counterparts. While the Company’s fish grow faster than existing
farm-raised fish, they do not grow to be larger. “We are
very excited by the positive change this can mean for aquaculture.
Our technology will particularly benefit consumers in under-developed
countries by lowering the costs of food production, while allowing
for a more sustainable and environmentally friendly aquaculture
industry everywhere. Less feed will be required to grow these
fish, and with a dramatically shorter harvest cycle, more fish
can be grown without increasing the amount of coastal areas dedicated
to marine farming. Lower costs of production will also allow a
greater number of fish to be grown in inland facilities, away
from costal waters altogether,” Mr. Entis continued.
Aqua Bounty
Technologies has two lead shrimp products in development. The
first, Shrimp IMS®, is a protein-based shrimp feed additive
that stimulates the natural immune system of shrimp. It has been
field-tested in locations in Asia and the Americas, and has increased
shrimp survival dramatically in disease prone areas. The second
shrimp-based product is a therapeutic that promises to eliminate
the deadliest of shrimp diseases, White Spot Virus. Field trials
are expected to begin later this autumn.
About Aqua
Bounty Technologies.
Aqua Bounty
Technologies is dedicated to improving the productivity of the
$50 billion a year commercial aquaculture industry through biotechnology.
The Company is positioned to become the premier provider of technology,
germplasm, and fish products derived from revolutionary discoveries
in the life sciences. The Company’s initial products transform
the economics of seafood production by radically shortening production
horizons and extending yields through leading edge molecular techniques,
thereby addressing many issues raised by environmental organizations
today.
Formerly known
as Aqua Bounty Farms, Inc., the company recently adopted its new
name to better reflect its accelerated development and in-licensing
of key marine biotechnology applications.
Back
to Press Release Archive
|
