Rockhill Partners
Encyclopedia
Rockhill Partners is an early-stage venture capital partnership. The firm invests in companies in the life science and technology sectors throughout the U.S. Current investments include Proteon Therapeutics, Orbis Biosciences and Infegy.
. Proteon's core technology was created by Dr. F. Nicholas Franano while at Johns Hopkins University
. Proteon has secured nearly $80 million from investors including Novartis
, MPM Capital, TVM Lifesciences, Skyline Ventures and Intersouth Partners to develop the company's lead drug compound. This drug, currently known as PROT-201, could prove vital in managing some of the worst problems encountered with kidney dialysis. In March 2009, Proteon entered into an option agreement with Novartis to be acquired for up to $550 million as certain development milestone are met.
Rockhill's second investment, LightSpeed Genomics, was based on technology created at MIT. According to In Sequence, a publication which covers the race to decode the human genome, "LightSpeed Genomics, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is developing a high-speed DNA
sequencing platform that 'will allow human genome sequencing to be performed more quickly and less expensively than ever before,' according to the company’s website...LightSpeed founder and CEO Josh (Jekwan) Ryu told In Sequence...that the company is currently in stealth mode and not yet ready to talk about its plans. Ryu, who holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
, is a former Affymetrix
staff scientist with 3 patents (US2005/0239113, US2005/0239114, US2005/0239115). Stanley Hong, a former colleague of Ryu from MIT, is a co-founder and chief technology officer of the company...Formerly called Solametrix, LightSpeed Genomics received an undisclosed amount of funding from Rockhill Partners and other angel investors in March 2007." In 2009, two Korean companies, Macrogen Corporation and the Korean Technology Investment Fund, teamed up to acquire LightSpeed from its original investors.
Professor George Church
of Harvard University
chairs LightSpeed's scientific advisory board. With Nobel prize winner Walter Gilbert
, Church developed the first direct genomic sequencing method and helped initiate the Human Genome Project, both in 1984. Church and a team are currently competing in the Archon X-Prize Competition. To win the $10 million genomics prize purse, teams must successfully sequence 100 human genomes within 10 days for less than $10,000 per genome.
Rockhill's third publicly disclosed investment, Orbis Biosciences, was formed around technology created at the University of Illinois. Orbis is a micro particle fabrication company for pharma and agricultural applications like sustained release drugs and taste masking. An April 2009 story in the Kansas City Business Journal featured Orbis vice president Maria Stecklein.
Two of Rockhill's partners have been involved in incubating Infegy, Inc. Infegy was founded by Justin Graves and Adam Coomes to commercialize SocialRadar. SocialRadar is a social media monitoring, measurement and management tool for the web. Clients include numerous advertising agencies and corporate clients.
Portfolio companies
Rockhill's first investment was Proteon TherapeuticsProteon Therapeutics
Proteon Therapeutics, Inc. is a developer of pharmaceuticals with offices in Waltham, Massachusetts and Kansas City, Missouri.It is developing PRT-201, a drug to improve blood flow following vascular surgery procedures, and, more broadly, is interested in vascular access for hemodialysis and...
. Proteon's core technology was created by Dr. F. Nicholas Franano while at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. Proteon has secured nearly $80 million from investors including Novartis
Novartis
Novartis International AG is a multinational pharmaceutical company based in Basel, Switzerland, ranking number three in sales among the world-wide industry...
, MPM Capital, TVM Lifesciences, Skyline Ventures and Intersouth Partners to develop the company's lead drug compound. This drug, currently known as PROT-201, could prove vital in managing some of the worst problems encountered with kidney dialysis. In March 2009, Proteon entered into an option agreement with Novartis to be acquired for up to $550 million as certain development milestone are met.
Rockhill's second investment, LightSpeed Genomics, was based on technology created at MIT. According to In Sequence, a publication which covers the race to decode the human genome, "LightSpeed Genomics, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is developing a high-speed DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
sequencing platform that 'will allow human genome sequencing to be performed more quickly and less expensively than ever before,' according to the company’s website...LightSpeed founder and CEO Josh (Jekwan) Ryu told In Sequence...that the company is currently in stealth mode and not yet ready to talk about its plans. Ryu, who holds a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
, is a former Affymetrix
Affymetrix
Affymetrix is a company that manufactures DNA microarrays; it is based in Santa Clara, California, United States. The company was founded by Dr. Stephen Fodor in 1992. It began as a unit in Affymax N.V...
staff scientist with 3 patents (US2005/0239113, US2005/0239114, US2005/0239115). Stanley Hong, a former colleague of Ryu from MIT, is a co-founder and chief technology officer of the company...Formerly called Solametrix, LightSpeed Genomics received an undisclosed amount of funding from Rockhill Partners and other angel investors in March 2007." In 2009, two Korean companies, Macrogen Corporation and the Korean Technology Investment Fund, teamed up to acquire LightSpeed from its original investors.
Professor George Church
George Church
George Church is an American molecular geneticist. He is currently Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School, Professor of Health Sciences and Technology at Harvard and MIT, and a core faculty member at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University.With...
of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
chairs LightSpeed's scientific advisory board. With Nobel prize winner Walter Gilbert
Walter Gilbert
Walter Gilbert is an American physicist, biochemist, molecular biology pioneer, and Nobel laureate.-Biography:Gilbert was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 21, 1932...
, Church developed the first direct genomic sequencing method and helped initiate the Human Genome Project, both in 1984. Church and a team are currently competing in the Archon X-Prize Competition. To win the $10 million genomics prize purse, teams must successfully sequence 100 human genomes within 10 days for less than $10,000 per genome.
Rockhill's third publicly disclosed investment, Orbis Biosciences, was formed around technology created at the University of Illinois. Orbis is a micro particle fabrication company for pharma and agricultural applications like sustained release drugs and taste masking. An April 2009 story in the Kansas City Business Journal featured Orbis vice president Maria Stecklein.
Two of Rockhill's partners have been involved in incubating Infegy, Inc. Infegy was founded by Justin Graves and Adam Coomes to commercialize SocialRadar. SocialRadar is a social media monitoring, measurement and management tool for the web. Clients include numerous advertising agencies and corporate clients.
External links
- Rockhill Partners Official site.