January 23, 2020
Contact: Sarah Seagraves,
Senior VP for Marketing
(405) 813-2403
[email protected]
Genio Technologies, Inc. has acquired exclusive rights to the MasSpec Pen System, a revolutionary technology from the University of Texas at Austin that is proven to accurately identify the difference between cancerous and normal tissue during surgery.
OKLAHOMA CITY — i2E Management Co., Inc., recently led a $1.25 million seed-round investment in Tulsa based MS Pen Technologies, Inc., to advance and commercialize the MasSpec Pen System. A subsidiary of MS Pen Technologies Inc., Genio Technologies, Inc., will lead this effort.
The radical MasSpec Pen System, developed in the lab of Livia Schiavinato Eberlin, Ph.D., is composed of a handheld and biocompatible pen-like device connected to a mass spectrometer that rapidly identifies the molecular profile of tissues during surgery.
First, the pen delivers a discrete water droplet to the tissue surface for 3-5 seconds. Next, the droplet is delivered to a mass spectrometer where molecules from the tissue are identified. Ultimately, a diagnostic profile of the tissue is delivered to the surgeon in real-time; thereby providing a method to quickly identify and remove cancerous cells.
“We will build upon the incredible accomplishments and momentum created by Dr. Eberlin and her lab over the past 5 years,” said Shannon D. Green, President and CEO of Genio Technologies, Inc. “As we continue to collect and validate the incredible data from ongoing pilot studies at Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, we will work to refine the versatility and adaptability of the MasSpec Pen, leading to great advancements in diagnostic accuracy and surgical precision, resulting in significant reductions in length of surgery and patient time under anesthesia, ultimately improving the outcomes for cancer patients and reducing associated costs.”
The investment round includes $500,000 from the Oklahoma Seed Capital Fund, which is managed by i2E Management Co., Inc. Angel investors provided the remaining $725,000 to close the seed round.
“We will use the proceeds from the seed round to finalize our regulatory and compliance strategy, improve manufacturing readiness and continue ongoing surgical pilot studies in Houston,” Green said.
Scott Meacham, CEO and Managing Director of i2E Management Company, Inc., added: “We are pleased to lead the investment round in a Tulsa based company that has acquired a life changing technology developed by Dr. Livia Schiavinato Eberlin, a super-star researcher out of the University of Texas. After our state has competed so often with the University of Texas on the sports field, it is great to have the opportunity to collaborate to help surgical patients with tumors across the globe.”
About i2E Management Co. Inc.
i2E Management Company, Inc. (iMCI), is a private, for profit investment and fund management company operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of i2E, Inc. iMCI currently manages $81 million across five venture funds. iMCI makes investment decisions and provides investment management as General Partner and/or Managing Member of a growing number of privately managed venture capital funds. Since 2007, iMCI and i2E, Inc. have invested more than $50 million of equity funding into 62 companies.
About Genio Technologies, Inc
Tulsa, OK-based Genio Technologies, Inc. (a sole subsidiary of MS Pen Technologies, Inc.), is advancing the groundbreaking MasSpec Pen technology, a pen-like biocompatible device that rapidly identifies the molecular profile of tissues when combined with an adapted mass spectrometer. The MasSpec Pen System was invented by a team of scientists and physicians at the University of Texas at Austin and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, led by analytical chemist, Livia Schiavinato Eberlin, Ph.D., who won a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship for her MasSpec Pen research, and co-inventors Thomas Milner, Ph.D.; Jialing Zhang, Ph.D.; and James Suliburk, M.D. Shannon D. Green is President and CEO of Genio Technologies, Inc. www.masspecpen.com
