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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sept. 22, 2005
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TRILLIUM GROUP
ANNOUNCES INVESTMENT IN THERMAL GRADIENT, INC.
Financial Backing will Support Technological Advances
in DNA Amplification
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Trillium
Group today announced it is investing in Thermal
Gradient, Inc., a Rochester bio-technology start-up
company that is developing a DNA amplification
technology that will result in cheaper, better,
and faster DNA testing products than have ever
been available. DNA amplification is a process
for making large amounts of DNA from just a few
original strands. The technology has applications
in polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based molecular
diagnostics, the most popular DNA amplification
technique available and a multi-billion dollar
segment of the clinical diagnostics business.
Financial support comes from
Trillium’s University Technology Seed Fund
(UTSF), a fund focused on facilitating commercialization
of new inventions and discoveries, such as Thermal
Gradient’s DNA technology, that offer high
potential for commercial success.
“We are excited with
the opportunities associated with this technology,”
said José J. Coronas, general partner,
Trillium Group. “It will solve the most
significant problems associated with PCR-based
diagnostics and it will catalyze tremendous growth
in this segment of the diagnostics industry.”
Most PCR reactions are currently
run by highly-trained technicians in batches of
just one type that take hours to complete. But,
with Thermal Gradient’s technology, it will
be possible to develop automated instruments capable
of running many tests simultaneously, with results
available in minutes instead of hours. Other potential
applications for this technology exist in such
areas as DNA fingerprinting, forensics, food and
water testing, and even bio-warfare.
Thermal Gradient was founded
in 2004 by Dr. Joel Grover, CEO, and Robert Juncosa,
chief technical officer and the inventor of the
device. Both Rochester residents, Dr. Grover has
worked for Johnson & Johnson’s Ortho
Clinical Diagnostics and Xerox Corp. Mr. Juncosa
previously worked for Ortho Clinical Diagnostics
and several other bio-technology companies.
“We’re creating
a micro-fluidic device less than half the size
of a paper clip that can perform DNA amplification
as fast as nature will allow,” said Dr.
Grover. “Testing instruments based on our
technology will be able to detect infected blood,
food, water, soil, and air in the fastest, most
efficient way possible. We will be able to detect
within minutes, for example, whether someone has
a disease such as HIV or whether we are under
attack with an air-born pathogen such as anthrax.”
“It’s very important,
with a seed venture such as ours, to have investors
who can understand and share your vision,”
added Mr. Juncosa. “Trillium is uniquely
poised in this sense because one of its general
partners, José Coronas, ran Ortho Clinical
Diagnostics for several years. He grasped our
concept immediately and could see its potential.”
Earlier this fall, Thermal
Gradient formed a partnership with the Infotonics
Center in Canandaigua, N.Y. to design and fabricate
these devices. Once fabricated, the prototypes
will be tested at the University of Rochester
Medical Center’s Functional Genomic Center.
For more information on Thermal
Gradient, visit www.thermalgradient.com.
About Trillium Group
Trillium Group is a venture capital and private
equity company specializing in startup, early
stage, and high growth investments. Trillium invests
through venture capital funds under management,
including the University Technology Seed Fund,
the Monroe Fund, and the Trillium Lakefront Partners
III Fund. Depending on business needs, equity
investments range from as little as $50,000 to
several million dollars. Partners of Trillium
Group are José J. Coronas, Dennis M. DeLeo,
Bud Frame, Joseph L. Harris, Chris O’Donnell,
Kevin J. Phelps and Frank P. Strong, Jr. For more
information on Trillium, visit www.trillium-group.com.
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