Cytena–SEVERAL: investment, 201903 financing round Series A €3m from HTGF + two private investors

	Period	2019-03-26
	Successor	Cytena–Cellink: investment, 201908 acquisition €30.25m of Cytena GmbH by Cellink AB
	Money taker	Cytena GmbH
	Group	Bico (Group)
	Money source	SEVERAL
	Product	single cell dispenser
	Product 2	venture capital
	Person	Krzyzak, Lena (High-Tech Gründerfonds 201609)

Cytena GmbH. (3/26/19). "Press Release: EUR 3 Million in Series A for the Growth and Development of Cytena GmbH".

> Two private investors and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) are convinced of the importance of single-cell isolation for the production of biopharmaceuticals and for genetic analysis in research and diagnostics.

> EUR 3 million will be invested in the further development of the technology, the expansion of the sales organization and in opening up further applications for Cytena's single-cell printers.

Freiburg-based Cytena GmbH successfully completes another financing round. In total, two private investors and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) are investing another 3 million euros in the company. The new capital will be used to continue developing its single-cell printer lab technology, expand sales activities and tap into the potential of new applications more quickly.

The analysis of individual biological cells has rapidly gained in importance in recent years. Single cells are used in the development of modern drugs, so-called biopharmaceuticals, as well as in cancer and stem cell research. The Cytena family of single-cell printers consists of laboratory devices for handling and sorting individual viable cells. These instruments are innovative tools for the life sciences and make a long-term contribution to the development and manufacturing of new drugs.

"The technological advantage of our single-cell printers over competing products does not mean that we can rest on our laurels. Rather, our goal is to better understand and serve our customers' needs. The new capital creates an important basis for doing so," says Cytena CFO Benjamin Steimle. In addition, the investment will help to increase the company’s market share. Although the majority of the world’s ten largest pharmaceutical companies are already customers of the Freiburg start-up, a very large global market potential is still waiting to be tapped.

Important milestones along this path so far have included a sales cooperation with a major American company and the addition of x.sight devices to the product family. "The recent financing round enables us to accelerate the next steps in Cytena's success story. " says Steimle.

Dr. Lena Krzyzak, Investment Manager at HTGF, says: "With our investment in series A, we intend to continue the successful growth of our start financing. The company has developed rapidly, and we have great confidence that the management team can continue expanding the market and continue product development.“

About cytena

Cytena™ is an established life science start-up. Founded in 2014 as a spin-off from the Institute for Microsystems Technology (IMTEK) at the University of Freiburg, Cytena primarily sells solutions for handling biological cells. The Cytena team has developed patented single-cell printer™ technology, which allows the isolation of single cells in a documented, gentle and sterile process. Single-cell printers have been manufactured in Germany and marketed worldwide since 2015. In 2018, the x.sightTM series was added to the product portfolio. Most of the top ten pharmaceutical companies use single-cell printers to produce clonal cell lines for manufacturing antibodies.

Press contact:

cytena GmbH
Benjamin Steimle
Neuer Messplatz 3
79108 Freiburg
+49 761 708890-0
benjamin.steimle@cytena.com
www.cytena.com