Cryoport Inc., the fast-growing Irvine transporter of cryogenic biological material used in clinical trials, is teaming up with a San Francisco-based company co-founded by GE Ventures and the Mayo Clinic.
Vineti Inc. has a cloud-based platform designed to permit better tracking of inventory for each personalized drug therapy across the entire supply chain.
Last year, Vineti raised $33.5 million in Series B funding, led by Canaan and DFJ, with participation from GE Ventures and others.
The World Economic Forum this year named Vineti as one of 10 early-stage health tech companies, citing its potential to help society at large.
“The relationship with Vineti is an important one,” Cryoport Chief Financial Officer Robert Stefanovich told the Business Journal.
The deal will give Cryoport more visibility because its industry has been relatively small, he said.
Vineti was co-founded by Amy DuRoss, who had worked on new business creation for GE Ventures and was co-founder of California’s Prop 71 where voters in 2004 approved $3 billion for stem cell research; and Heidi Hagen, who worked a decade as senior vice president of operations at Seal Beach-based Dendreon Pharmaceuticals LLC.
Tracking Control
Cryoport said it’s involved in 413 clinical trials, including 52 in Phase III. Vineti said its platform will be deployed in more than 300 clinical centers in the coming year.
Vineti’s tracking software shows online data for each of Cryoport’s specially designed containers such as the humidity, battery levels, and temperatures inside and outside the containers. It also shows if a container is tilting, which can decrease the duration for which it can remain cool.
“Vineti provides support like a control tower related to the data of patient scheduling,” Stefanovich said. “It’s a very logistical choice for us.”
Cryoport (Nasdaq: CYRX) on Aug. 8 reported second quarter revenue climbed 83% to $8.5 million.
“We think the growth of the regenerative medicine market has just begun; and, to support this growth, we will continue to further build out our ecosystem to better serve all our life sciences markets through investing in infrastructure, forming strategic partnerships and developing new, innovative solutions for the life sciences,” Chief Executive Jerrell Shelton said in a statement last month on the results.
Following that report, its shares jumped about 27% to a 52-week high of $24.53. In the past month, its shares have fallen about 28% to around $17.72 and a $631 million valuation. Nonetheless, Cryoport’s shares are still up ninefold in the past two years.
