Tuesday, August 5, 2008

BioTrove expands to Europe

By Mass High Tech Staff

Woburn biotech company BioTrove Inc. has opened a European office in London and named Derek Potter the director of European business operations to oversee the company’s expansion. The news follows BioTrove’s recent announcement in July that it had launched a new facility in San Carlos, Calif.

BioTrove (Nasdaq: BTRV) develops two major technologies: OpenArray, for genomic research in agriculture, public health and disease research; and RapidFire, for enabling fast drug discoveries. Company officials said BioTrove has work in development with France, Germany, Belgium, Hungary and the Netherlands.

Potter joins BioTrove having previously worked as the first European sales manager for Applied Biosystems Inc. He holds a bachelor of science degree in biochemistry from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.

BioTrove’s California location, hosting offices and laboratory space, was opened to encourage collaboration with Bay Area companies. BioTrove already has partnerships with Applied BioSystems and Agilent Technologies Inc. both of which have facilities nearby. The company also said it will host demonstrations of its genomic analysis system and high-throughput mass spectrometry system at the site.

In early July, BioTrove reported it won a two-year National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant with partner Gene Express Inc. of Wilmington, N.C., to further their proposed novel research of genetic biomarkers for lung cancer.

In April, the company filed for a $75 million initial public offering, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. BioTrove generated $4.8 million in revenue last year and posted a net loss of nearly $16 million, according to the SEC filing.