April 26, 2002 — A Swiss nanotech startup presented its first products ready for market at Analytica 2002, a trade fair in Munich that ends today.
Zeptosens AG, based in Witterswill near Basel, makes protein and gene microarray systems and optical detection systems for use in drug discovery. The core technology is licensed from Novartis AG.
The new product is the SensiChip Reader and its corresponding SensiChips, which are DNA microarrays that can monitor responses of between 100 and 1,000 genes per chip. Zeptosens is working with its German marketing partner, Qiagen, which is also one of its investors.
The company was founded in 1999 and now has 30 employees. A second round of funding closed in January 2001 for $8.5 million from investors that included Qiagen, Techno Venture Management and Swiss Life.
A third round is being planned. “We will start the road show in September and expect to close the end of 2002 or early 2003,” said Markus Ehrat, the company’s chief executive.
— Jo McIntyre