29th July,2016, New Delhi: Igenomix is one of the world’s leading biotechnology companies focused on reproductive genetic testing, Charme Capital Partners’ investment will help accelerate Igenomix’s internationalisation, expand the company’s world-leading R&D functions, and broaden the scope of its genetic testing services. Investment is the first made by Charme III, a pan-European mid-market buyout fund.
Charme Capital Partners, a pan- European private equity fund that has fully committed to support IGENOMIX in the next stage of its international development. Graham Snudden, co-founder of BlueGnome Ltd, the Cambridge-based company acquired by Illumina in 2012 whose 24sure technology became the industry standard for pre-implantation genetic screening, will participate in the transaction and will join the Board of IGENOMIX.
Devised in 2012 IGENOMIX is a division of Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad, which is one of the world’s largest and most successful in-vitro fertilization clinics. IGENOMIX is headquartered in Valencia and has its laboratories in Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Mexico, Sao Paolo, New Delhi and Dubai and since it’s separation from IVI has focused itself on growing and broadening the scope of its genetic testing services as a fully independent organization.
In this new stage, IGENOMIX will count with the same managing team (led by David Jimenez as CEO and Dr. Carlos Simon as CSO) and the same vision, as well as additional resources that will enable the company to further expand its R&D efforts; aimed at introducing breakthrough innovations in genetics in reproductive medicine. It will also further expand its market presence in both developed and emerging markets, as these mature and adopt genetic testing as a way of improving pregnancy rates.
Dr. Carlos Simon, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Valencia University and Stanford School of Medicine, Chief Scientific Officer and a key shareholder of IGENOMIX, and the man behind some of the breakthrough innovations based on genetic testing that the company has brought to market commented: “Today, IGENOMIX is the leading research-driven genetic testing company focused in IVF. Charme will bring us resources to further expand our R&D program and we expect to benefit from its track record helping their portfolio companies expand internationally. That is why we are excited to partner up with Charme and Graham.”
Francisco Churtichaga and Tommaso Beolchini, Partners at Charme Capital Partners commented: “IGENOMIX is enjoying an accelerated growth exceeding 50% per annum and will approach €30m sales in 2016, so it represented a great opportunity to invest in a leading national champion and contribute to its global expansion. IGENOMIX also has a unique proprietary know-how and a world-class management team, so we look forward to helping the company deliver on its excellent growth potential in new markets such as China and Russia, among others.”
Graham Snudden said: “I was delighted when Carlos and David invited me to join them in their new venture, as we had previously worked very closely together to establish the array based technology which was fundamental to their early success. I am confident that we can draw on the very deep scientific insights gathered over many years by Carlos and his team in order to bring to the market a new range of genetic services aimed at treating the growing problem of infertility.”
About: IGENOMIX
Igenomix was created in 2011 when it was spun out from Instituto Valenciano de Infertilidad (IVI). Today it is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced services in reproductive genetics, operating from eight laboratories worldwide. Its constant efforts in R&D, led by Prof. Dr. Carlos Simón (the 2011 Jaime I award-winner for Clinical Research), enable Igenomix to create and develop specific tools to support professionals in the reproductive medicine field. Specialist services offered include PGS (Pre-Implantation Genetic Screening), NACE (Non-invasive Prenatal Test); CGT (Carrier Genetic Test); PGD (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis) and ERA (Endometrial Receptivity Array).
Visit: www.Igenomix.co.in
About: Charme Capital Partners
Charme Capital Partners is based in London, Milan and Madrid, and is the manager of the Charme Funds, founded in 2003 by Luca and Matteo di Montezemolo and backed by a unique combination of institutional LPs and prominent global industrialists. Since inception, the Charme Funds have raised over €1bn and invested with a pan-European approach in companies with strong growth and internationalisation prospects.
Charme III was launched in 2015 with a pan-European investment strategy focused on mid-market investments across a range of business sectors in Europe, with a particular focus on UK, Spain and Italy. It targets fast growing mid-market companies with an enterprise value of €100mn to €500mn, where it can partner with shareholders and management teams to unlock potential and deliver transformational growth, both organically and through M&A. This will allow companies to reinforce their market positioning and in many cases to expand internationally.
The main investments of the Charme Funds include in luxury goods Poltrona Frau Group (global leader in high-end design furniture) in technology Octo Telematics (world leader in insurance telematics) and in healthcare Bellco (leading provider of blood purification devices).
