Funding round includes investments from Purdue Foundry and Elevate Ventures
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Novilytic LLC, a biochemistry analytics company that protects and secures lifesaving drugs, has completed a $1.6 million seed round in addition to its $1.4 million National Institutes of Health Small Business Innovation Research grant. The seed round investments include contributions from Purdue Foundry and Elevate Ventures.
This fundraising round supports and enhances Novilytic's offerings and will speed up the market entry of its consumables for pharmaceutical analytics. These nanotechnology-based tools will be used by pharmaceutical chemists to test antibody quality in-process – a novel concept in the analytical chemistry and drug development industries.
Novilytic is growing quickly; it has added nine new employees within the last year and will be expanding within the next several months. The company has numerous Purdue University connections, including its co-founder and chief technology officer, Fred Regnier. He is the former J.H. Law Distinguished Professor of Chemistry in Purdue's Department of Chemistry. Regnier is one of the top analytical chemists in the world, as ranked by Chemistry Views Magazine, and has assembled a strong technological team around him.
"Momentum fosters success, and the support from investment partners like the Purdue Foundry and Elevate Ventures allows Novilytic to stay ahead of our roadmap while scaling our organization," said Paul Dreier, the company's CEO. "We are thankful for the support from the private sector and federal government grants, which will expedite our growth and allow us to continue to get our name out in the market."
Riley Gibb, director of business development at Purdue Foundry, said he and his colleagues are proud to have Novilytic in their portfolio.
"We are excited for the impact that its technology will have on the drug development and biochemistry markets," Gibb said. "Purdue Foundry is dedicated to supporting promising early-stage startups throughout the state in the form of investments, partnerships and more."
Purdue Foundry is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which has strongly supported Novilytic with a technology licensing and servicing agreement. PRF also successfully nominated Novilytic to pitch in the Venture Club of Indiana's 2021 Innovation Showcase. Novilytic's headquarters is based in the Purdue Research Park of West Lafayette, and the company is anticipating further growth.
Elevate Ventures has also been a staunch supporter of Novilytic since its inception.
"Novilytic's innovative solution and expanding product suite for pharma manufacturing have the potential to significantly change the value stream," said Mark Gramelspacher, executive director of SAM Fund and entrepreneur-in-residence at Elevate Ventures. "The company's technology can ultimately improve patient safety, increase efficiency and improve quality, a triple win in the supply chain. We're thrilled to continue our support of Novilytic as they enter its next phase of growth."
Novilytic is eyeing a late fall 2022 or early 2023 release date for its consumables.
About Novilytic LLC
Novilytic is a biochemistry analytics company that secures lifesaving drugs. The company is backed by strong partnerships with large analytical companies, artificial intelligence leaders and pharmaceutical consortiums. Our potency is extended by the Novilytic team, which includes multiple Ph.D. chemists and engineers who have helped us secure significant patents and other intellectual property. Our business plan will increase those forces to ensure we meet customer, market and regulatory demands. Learn more at Novilytic.com.
About Elevate Ventures
Elevate Ventures is a private venture development organization assisting high-growth startups and early-stage companies expand into high-performing, Indiana-based companies. Elevate has invested over $130 million in more than 460 companies through its various programs. Pitchbook has ranked Elevate as the Most Active VC in the Great Lakes Region since 2017. To learn more about Elevate Ventures, visit elevateventures.com.
About Purdue Foundry
The Purdue Foundry is an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub whose professionals help Purdue innovators create startups. The Purdue Foundry is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2019 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Place from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. Contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.
Writers: Steve Martin, sgmartin@prf.org
Ryan Simpson, rsimpson@novilytic.com
Media contact: Erica Schweyer, eschweyer@elevateventures.com
Sources: Paul Dreier, pdreier@novilytic.com, (317) 752-3116
Riley Gibb, rtgibb@prf.org
Mark Gramelspacher, mgramelspacher@elevateventures.com