Axion BioSystems completes successful equity financing

ATLANTA, May 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Axion BioSystems, a manufacturer of the Maestro multiwell microelectrode array (MEA) platform, is pleased to announce that the Company successfully closed a $6 million equity financing. The additional capital will accelerate the growth of Axion's core life science instrumentation product line.

"Axion's products are being adopted around the world at an ever-increasing rate," said CEO Tom O'Brien. "To maintain our rapid growth, we need to further invest in our global sales channel and in the support system for our expanding list of customers in pharma, biotech, academia and government."

The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) has supported Axion since it was founded in 2008. In this equity financing round, GRA Venture Fund, LLC led the investment. "We know the management team well, and have confidence in their ability to execute their plan," stated Michelle Jarrard, GRA Venture Fund Managing Director. "Furthermore, we believe their products address existing and emerging needs in the drug discovery and cell therapy markets."

Concurrent with the close of financing, Axion is pleased to announce that Jay Teich will join the Company's Board of Directors.  Teich is the former CEO of Seahorse Bioscience, a company focused on cell metabolism that was sold to Agilent Technologies in November 2015.  Teich said, "I see a lot of parallels between Seahorse and Axion.  Both companies have harnessed new technology to simplify a complex measurement of cellular activity.  The adoption of their tools is enabling exciting scientific discoveries while creating an attractive growth market."

Axion, a proud member of Atlanta's biotech community, was born out of technology developed at Georgia Tech. To find out more about Axion, visit http://www.axionbio.com/

About Axion BioSystems, Inc.
Axion BioSystems, Inc. is a life science instrumentation company that develops high-throughput microelectrode array (MEA) systems for cellular analysis, allowing researchers to recreate brain activity and heartbeats on the benchtop.  As a result, drug safety, drug discovery, and disease modeling is accomplished with greater sensitivity, accuracy, and productivity.

About GRA Venture Fund
The GRA Venture Fund, LLC is a private investment fund helping to finance promising companies emerging from Georgia's universities. The Fund makes seed, early-stage and mid-stage investments in companies originating from GRA Ventures, the commercialization arm of the Georgia Research Alliance. Fund investors include the State of Georgia, private individuals, corporations and foundations. For more information, visit www.graventurefund.org.

Contact:
Amanda Schroeder
Director, Public Relations
Georgia Research Alliance
[email protected]
404.443.2659

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SOURCE Axion Biosystems, Inc.