Intact Genomics Inc., a biotechnology startup that provides life sciences research products and services, has relocated its headquarters as it seeks to expand its technology and raise new financing.
The biotech firm has opened a new headquarters at 11840 Westline Industrial Drive in Maryland Heights, near Westport Plaza. Its prior office was located at the Helix Center Biotech Incubator in Creve Coeur. The new office spans about 5,000 square feet, up from the roughly 3,000-square-foot space Intact Genomics occupied at the Helix Center. Intact Genomics co-founder and CEO Chengcang Charles Wu said the startup’s new headquarters is split between 2,000 square feet of office space and 3,000 square feet of labs.
Launched in 2013, Intact Genomics provides an array of products and services it says are designed to help scientists advance pharmaceutical, agricultural and environmental studies by probing the genomics of microorganisms, plants and animal species. The nine-person company has created technology that aims to help researchers discover new natural products through the examinations of items like fungi and soil.
Wu founded Intact Genomics with his wife, Rosa Ye. Wu says the pair explored other locations, such as the West Coast or Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, to headquarter the company, but chose St. Louis for its cluster of companies and facilities focused on plant science and biotechnology research.
Since its founding, Intact Genomics has used federal grant funding to advance the deployment of its technology, luring more than $12 million in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant funding. In July, the local startup said it was granted $2.94 million in SBIR funding from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to team up with researchers from the University of Montana on a project. The initiative involves Intact Genomics and Andrea Stierle’s lab at the University of Montana examining fungi located at the Berkeley Pit, a superfund site located in Montana. Wu said they will use Intact Genomics’ Fungal Artificial Chromosome technology in an effort to discover new antibiotics, anti-cancer agents and fungicides.
Wu says Intact Genomics wants to expand the use of its Fungal Artificial Chromosome technology in pharmaceutical and agricultural research. He said the company has started raising private investment to expand its operations and technology, beginning efforts to raise $2 million in seed funding. Following the seed round, Wu said the company is eyeing $20 million in financing.
“We’re very excited about the technology we have, and we continue to try to improve the technology. There’s a lot of excitement and development around that,” he said.
Intact Genomics has brought on Blair Fortner, who previously held roles with Monsanto and Archer Daniels Midland Co. (NYSE: ADM), to help with its efforts to raise private capital.
