ST. LOUIS – BioGenerator, the investment arm of BioSTL, announced today that its portfolio company, Canopy Biosciences, a commercial stage multi-omics and fluorescent imaging business, was acquired by Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR) of Billerica, Massachusetts. Financial details were not disclosed.
Canopy is a fast-growing research tools company that will remain based in the The BioSTL Building, focusing on gene editing and expression analysis. The company seeks out advanced technologies for commercialization of high-tech products and services in the research tools space. Compared to a therapeutic or medical device, research tools have minimal development time and minimal regulatory risk. To fuel growth, Canopy previously acquired Zellkraftwerk (Germany) and Core Diagnostics (California), expanding into ChipCytometry and CLIA clinical services.
“This is an important milestone for Canopy and the St. Louis startup ecosystem,” said Edward Weinstein, PhD, co-founder and CEO of Canopy Biosciences. “Bruker is an industry leader with global sales and marketing, which, as our new parent company, will enable continued expansion of Canopy’s business.”
“In the current challenging environment for companies in this sector, we are pleased to join forces with a market leader that has the necessary resources to advance Canopy’s business,” said Charlie Bolten, BioGenerator Senior Vice President. “BioGenerator’s investment returns from Canopy will be redeployed into several innovative new St. Louis ventures being launched in strong markets such as health care data analytics, remote patient care and monitoring, and specific areas within therapeutics.”
Canopy was founded by BioGenerator in late 2016. The company was founded by then BioGenerator Entrepreneurs in Residence, Weinstein and David Smoller, along with Crystal Winkeler, then a BioGenerator Senior Investment Analyst. Canopy has grown quickly since receiving investment from BioGenerator, angel investors, and the founders in late 2016, reaching 50 total employees led from the Company’s St. Louis headquarters at the BioGenerator Labs inside The BioSTL Building. The company also has operations in Hayward, California and in Hannover and Leipzig, Germany.
“Canopy’s success is a testament to BioGenerator’s innovative collection of programs designed to help St. Louis startups thrive,” said Eric Gulve, PhD, BioGenerator President. “Our initiatives to recruit and support highly talented individuals, provide access to early-stage risk capital, and minimize barriers to accessing high quality laboratory space were all brought to bear in the creation of Canopy Biosciences.”
“The addition of Bruker, a multi-national, publicly-traded company with a 60-year history, to the community of scientists, entrepreneurs, and startups in The BioSTL Building is a milestone for the St. Louis life sciences ecosystem,” said Donn Rubin, President and CEO of BioSTL and Chairman of BioGenerator. “Bruker’s acquisition of Canopy is another proofpoint that St. Louis’ rich talent and innovation are a magnet for national investment.”
BioGenerator led Canopy’s seed financing round in 2017, which was followed by a Series A in 2018 led by BioGenerator and Kingdom Capital. In 2019, Canopy raised a Series B round led by Ampersand Capital Partners, using the proceeds for the acquisitions of Zellkraftwerk and Core Diagnostics. Additional Canopy investors include St. Louis Arch Angels, Pinpoint Holdings, Synchrony Bio, Missouri Technology Corporation, and other angel investors.
Bruker announced its acquision of Canopy on its website.
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Canopy Biosciences was formed in 2016 and has rapidly built a comprehensive portfolio of products and services for gene editing, gene expression analysis and regulation, and bioprocessing. Canopy’s gene editing portfolio offers easy-to-use CRISPR kits and full-service custom cell line engineering. Canopy has also assembled an innovative multi-omic platform for immune profiling, including ultrasensitive DNA sequencing (RareSeq), RNAseq, gene expression analysis, and multiplexed protein detection in cells and tissue samples via Chip Cytometry. Canopy Biosciences is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, and serves researchers at universities, research institutions and biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies worldwide. Additional information is available at canopybiosciences.com.
BioGenerator, the investment arm of BioSTL, produces a sustained pipeline of successful bioscience companies and entrepreneurs in St. Louis by creating, growing and investing in promising new enterprises. Visit biogenerator.org for additional information, and follow us on LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/BioGenerator and Twitter @BioGeneratorSTL.
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