Collaborative electronic R&D company KineMatik has raised €1.5m in second-round funding to research and develop products for the biotechnology sector, including the creation of ‘systems biology’ products.
The investment was raised amongst private Irish investors. Richard O’Rourke, founder and CEO of KineMatik, said: “This new investment will be focused on leveraging our recent success in the US with further market penetration planned there and in Europe. Our goal for the next 12 months is to consolidate our position as leaders in the life sciences R&D market, specifically in the emerging ‘systems biology’ arena.”
KineMatik has developed an enterprise collaborative electronic research and development (eR&D) solution, eNovator, which enables greater efficiency of researchers and more effective management of research by integrating the strategic, operational, knowledge and data management processes of R&D.
“The biotechnology industry worldwide is moving at a lightning pace. For Ireland’s growing biotechnology industry to flourish, it must take advantage of information technology to enable more efficient and effective creation and dissemination of new knowledge,” O’Rourke said. “Our efforts to date to demonstrate the value of a collaborative research network are starting to bear fruit and we are confident of its success.”
Tom Cassidy, senior vice president for European operations with the company, added: “Having made a significant investment in product development, most recently with the addition of new portfolio and program management tools, we are now seeing increasing demand for our product, eNovator, as research organisations realise that to streamline their operations and increase productivity they must invest in new enabling technologies.”
“This second round of funding will primarily be used to further our sales pipeline, continue to educate the market place in Collaborative eR&D and to raise the general level of awareness of both KineMatik and eNovator.”
A fortnight ago the company entered into a joint agreement with Nasdaq-listed Open Text Corporation to donate licences of their software to two SFI-sponsored Centres for Science, Engineering & Technology (CSETs) in Ireland. These were the Alimentary Health centre at UCC and the Royal College of Surgeons’ Centre for Human Proteomics.
By John Kennedy
