Selah Genomics Forms Second Clinical Genomic Center

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Selah Genomics Inc, an SCRA Technology Ventures company, announces the formation of a new Clinical Genomics Center at the University of South Carolina’s Innovista research campus in the heart of Columbia, South Carolina. Selah’s CEO, Michael Bolick, comments: “We are excited to report that our new Clinical Genomic Center at Innovista is already actively engaged with several marquee pharmaceutical customers. Our team is now transferring our quality management practices from our other facilities to Columbia and we plan to file for CLIA registration for this new facility in the spring. These efforts also strengthen our ability to serve USC researchers and other clients worldwide.”

“We are pleased to have Selah join us as a tenant of IdeaLabs at Innovista,” said university President Harris Pastides. “With research and technology at the forefront of genomics, our partnership will help clinicians throughout South Carolina improve health outcomes for patients.”

Selah already is working with USC’s Center for Colon Cancer Research, headed by Professor Frank Berger in the College of Arts and Sciences at USC. “This partnership with Selah Genomics is powerful,” Berger said. “Each entity has different strengths, from which the cancer patient benefits. Selah brings the sequencing technology to researchers, who on their own have limited ability to mobilize such technology.” Berger said Selah’s CLIA lab located at Innovista will be a magnet to attract new researchers to the university. “What we can do together is much greater than what each of us could do on our own,” Berger said.

Dean Thomas Chandler of the Arnold School of Public Health said, “We are presently in an unprecedented period of faculty recruitment in the health sciences at USC. Many of the nation’s most accomplished and creative health scientists depend heavily on the new technologies in genomics and bioinformatics that Selah will provide in a CLIA certified research environment. The health of South Carolinians, of the environment, and of the nation is already being improved by the remarkable tools emerging almost daily from genomics. USC needs to remain on the cutting edge. Selah Genomics is a significant partner in that effort.”

Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin commented: “We are seeing a shift to an exciting stage of growth in life science entrepreneurship for the city of Columbia and for Innovista. Our community is committed to helping high impact entrepreneurs grow businesses here.”

Bolick said Selah Genomics growth has been supported by investments from Nexus Medical Partners and SCRA Technology Ventures’ Stage 2 Affiliate. He concluded, “We are thrilled to take this next step in Selah’s growth. We are at the beginning of a sea change in the practical application of genomics. From here on in the rate of change will only accelerate. Selah’s Clinical Genomics Center at Innovista will operate at the nexus of business, academic research and clinical health care to help realize the promise of precision medicine.”

About Selah Genomics

Selah Genomics is a clinical diagnostic specialist supporting healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical industry with advanced molecular and genomic diagnostic services. Selah’s services add value to early stage drug development, clinical trials and regulatory processes in the pharmaceutical industry and help clinicians and healthcare providers treat and monitor patients, thereby improving patient outcomes.

About IdeaLabs at Innovista, University of South Carolina

IdeaLabs, located in the heart of Innovista, provides leasable wet and dry lab space to technology-based companies in South Carolina that have strong R&D ties to the University of South Carolina and the region, as well as startup companies born from USC research. By supporting the transfer of technology from the research stage to the commercial sector, IdeaLabs plays a critical role in the long-term diversification of the state’s economic base.

Innovista connects USC and university-spawned innovations with business, industry and entrepreneurs. Innovista’s purpose is to attract, create and grow technology-intensive, knowledge-based companies to accelerate innovation and drive economic prosperity in South Carolina. For more information, visit http://innovista.sc.edu.

About Nexus Medical Partners

Nexus Medical Partners is a private equity firm, headquartered in Boston, MA, specializing in making private equity investments in and providing strategic assistance to medical technology and selected life science companies.

About SCRA and SCRA Technology Ventures

SCRA Technology Ventures helps innovative companies grow and develop new technologies, creating jobs and advancing the Knowledge Economy throughout South Carolina. This SCRA business sector provides support and mentoring through its flagship SC Launch program to early stage, start-up technology companies. Since 2006, SCRA has deployed over $59 million in funding and infrastructure to support over 280 high -tech, early-stage enterprises, and has directly invested over $13 million in South Carolina start-ups, attracting over $200 million in private investment. SCRA Technology Ventures also supports commercialization and growth by facilitating the transfer of intellectual property and accelerating the transition of inventions to the marketplace. Additionally, SCRA Technology Ventures invests in more established technology companies through its Stage 2 affiliate.

Multiple economic impact studies show SCRA's cumulative output on South Carolina's economy to be over $14 billion, and that the company has helped create approximately 15,000 technology-related jobs in the state, with annual wages averaging between $55,000 and $77,000. For more information, visit www.scra.org.