Third round financing for GILUPI GmbH with Aurelia Private Equity, Brandenburg Capital (BFBII), KfW Bankengruppe and High-Tech Gründerfonds

GILUPI GmbH is an innovative company developing and producing medical devices for the in vivo isolation of rare cells out of the circulating blood. GILUPI will use the current financing mainly for the CE-certification and the subsequent introduction into the market of its patented medical detector.

The early approval of the device according to the MPG (Medical Devices Act) is essential for achieving the economic objectives of GILUPI. New innovative products for isolating rare cells out of the blood are currently of high interest on the market for medical products. Due to the long phases of product development and approval and the market life cycles of products which are becoming shorter an immediate entry into the market is important. Therefore, the first GILUPI product for clinical research, “Nanodetector Cancer 01”, is intended to get its approval in 2011. Further approvals, possibly in combination with in vitro diagnostic kits for the analysis of isolated cells, will be applied for in the fields of cancer and prenatal diagnostics in the years to come.

For the production and the market entry of a medical product the certification of the producer according to ISO 13485 and the CE-certification of the device are mandatory.

The early detection of cancer is still the most decisive factor in its successful treatment, its follow-up and the improvement of the patient´s quality of life. The value of today´s diagnostic methods is limited because some of the methods rely on small specimen volumes from which conclusions concerning the status of a whole organ or the complete organism are being drawn. In addition many of these methods put the patients under a heavy physical or mental burden.

This situation is emphasizing the necessity for developing new methods of improved diagnostic value. The new GILUPI medical device is an innovative approach combining the in vivo isolation of cells and their subsequent in vitro analysis. The nanodetector makes it possible to specifically isolate tumor cells out of a patient´s circulating blood by the predetermined selectivity of the antibodies bound on the nanodetector. These cells can then be used for the analysis of their genetic status and for determining genetic aberrations.

In several clinical trials tumor cells were isolated by this nanodetector with a detection rate of more than 90 %.

“In addition to our unique technological platform a further strength of GILUPI is its team of investors. I am very proud that besides the ERP Startfonds all of the first investors have joined again for the next round of financing GILUPI´s efforts with 3.6 Million Euros and are supporting our course of expansion”, the founder and CEO of GILUPI, Klaus Lücke, is saying and continues “with this new round we are not only implementing our entry into the market but we will also establish the structure for future cooperations”.

It is the objective to improve the current nanodetector further and to use it for the early detection of several cancers, for evaluating therapy effects, the follow-up and for predicting the prognosis of the disease.

For a similar medical device designed for prenatal diagnostics the in vivo proof of concept was achieved.

About GILUPI GmbH
GILUPI – founded in 2006 and located in the Science Park of Potsdam-Golm – developed a patented medical detector. The nanodetector consists of a thin gold coated wire which is covered with threads of a nanopolymer in order to make the tip of the wire smooth and biocompatible. The polymer layer is simultaneously serving as support for the tight binding of antibodies against specific molecules on cells which are to be isolated out of the circulating blood. These antibodies are able to bind these molecules and thus capture the cells.

For further information, please turn to www.gilupi.com

About AURELIA PRIVATE EQUITY GmbH
Aurelia Private Equity based in Frankfurt am Main invests into fast growing technology companies in the sectors of internet, media, telecommunication, software, industry and life sciences. We look for enterprises with an experienced management, technological advantage and a high scaling potential.

Aurelia Private Equity GmbH
J.-Wolfgang Posselt
Kurhessenstraße 1-3
60431 Frankfurt am Main
Tel: +49 69 80 900
Fax: +49 69 80 90 109
info@aurelia-pe.de

About BCBrandenburg Capital GmbH
BC Brandenburg Capital GmbH (BC GmbH) is a management and holding entity of several investment funds. Being a subsidiary of InvestitionsBank des Landes Brandenburg (ILB), and through investment by the tbg Technologie-Beteiligungs-Gesellschaft mbH of KfW Mittelstandsbank, we grant financial support to growth- and innovation-oriented small & medium-sized enterprises with company domicile or commercial unit in Brandenburg during all phases of business development. BC GmbH is currently in charge of managing six funds with 150mn Euro under management provided by public institutions and private investors.

For now, BC GmbH participates in over 42 active enterprises as a funding partner.

Currently the S-UBG Fund (Risikokapitalbeteiligungsgesellschaft der Sparkassen des Landes Brandenburg) and the BFB Wachstumsfonds Brandenburg are available for financing small and medium sized companies.

As of July 1st, 2010, all tasks of the BC are exercised by the ILB as agent. Therewith, a broader selection of financial means can be offert from one source in order to provide best possible financing stuctures.

About BFB Wachstumsfonds Brandenburg
BFB Wachstumsfonds Brandenburg GmbH (BFB II) was established by InvestitionsBank des Landes Brandenburg in March 2009 by order of the State Ministry for Economics with a capital volume of 30mn Euro, and management was assigned to BC Brandenburg Capital GmbH. The purpose of the Fund is to provide, together with private capital investors, financing, in particular, to small & medium-sized technology firms in Brandenburg during their early as well as their expansion stage by way of equity investments and silent partner¬ships with capital amounts of up to 1.5mn Euro. The capital volume of the fund BFB II is provided by the European Fund for Regional Development (EFRE) to 75pc, and 25pc are appropriations from the Brandenburg State Ministry for Economics.

Funding new commitments is still possible until 2013.

For further information, please turn to www.ilb.de.

About KfW Bankengruppe
KfW finances and supports, among other things, business start-ups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) as well as investments in economic growth and employment projects in Germany.

The ERP Start-up-Fund, administered and co-financed by KfW, offers equity financing for innovative, technology-based enterprises with excellent growth prospects. The fund finances research and product development as well as the launching of new products, procedures and services. KfW always cooperates with a lead investor and exclusively adopts market conditions.

For further information, please to www.kfw.de

About High Tech Gründerfonds
High-Tech Gründerfonds invests venture capital in young, high-opportunity technological companies implementing promising research results in an entrepreneurial manner. The start-up companies are planned to lead their R&D projects to the production of a prototype or a “proof of concepts” or market launch by means of the seed financing of up to 500k EUR. The High-Tech Gründerfonds has a fund volume of around 272m EUR. Investors of the public-private partnership are the Federal Ministry for Economics and Technology, the KfW bank group as well as the six industrial groups BASF, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens, Robert Bosch, Daimler and Carl Zeiss.

Contact:
High-Tech Gründerfonds Management GmbH
Simon Schneider
Ludwig-Erhard-Allee 2
53175 Bonn
Tel: +49 228 823001-00
Fax: +49 228 823000-50
s.schneider@htgf.de
www.high-tech-gruenderfonds.de