Practichem, a biotechnology instrumentation and software startup based in Raleigh, raises $5 million from investors.
The company is ona fast growth path after having moved to the Triangle from Wisconsin in 2013.
“Closing this round positions Practichem for a great future in the emerging confluence of Internet of Things and Open Science” said Nick DeMarco, the firm’s CEO and founder, in announcing the funding.
“We’re excited to be a first mover, building open research tools to speed cures for the world’s most challenging diseases.”
Here’s how Practichem describes its mission:
“We make scientific instruments you control from your lab or the corner cafe. We asked ourselves what people could accomplish if laboratory technology was as intuitive and interactive as any smartphone or high-end consumer device. The answer: even more than we imagined.”
The firm’s technology enables browser-based, web-integrated control of scientific instruments.
Its electronics and software platform has led to development of one product known as the Arista Slice.
A protein chromatography instrument, it is “one half the cost and one quarter the size of current solutions,” practichem says.
“As the first truly internet enabled chromatography system, Arista Slice gives scientists control from any device, at any location.”
The new funds will be used for expansion of the firm’s staff in research and development, product marketing and manufacturing.
