Bio-threat Detection Company BioFlyte Raises $1.25M Seed Funding Round

BioFlyte devices are designed to protect the world’s most critical facilities ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., June 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — BioFlyte, a biodefense company created to commercialize a revolutionary new class of fieldable biological threat collection, detection, and identification solutions, announced that it raised $1.25 million in new funding. This seed stage equity financing round was led by venture capital firm Anzu Partners.

The funding will accelerate BioFlyte’s development of its fieldable mass spectrometer that enables miniaturized, low-cost, and low-power detection and identification of airborne microbes and toxins in real-time. “BioFlyte’s focus is critical infrastructure protection and emergency response,” said Charles Call, PhD, cofounder and Chief Executive Officer of BioFlyte. “BioFlyte builds on more than a decade of critical research and development, including the work of our sister company Zeteo Tech, Inc., a technology development and innovation engine based in Sykesville, Maryland.” BioFlyte’s first product is the z750 handheld collector, designed to provide CBRN Defense Forces and Emergency Response Teams with an advanced high-performance handheld aerosol sampler. The z750 handheld collector is designed around a proven dry filter technology that has been in use worldwide for decades. The advanced filter design incorporated into the z750 has extensively validated sample extraction protocols, and is compatible with PCR, immunoassay, and fieldable mass spec instruments, as well as analytical methods associated with laboratory confirmation. The BioFlyte™ z200 is a breakthrough combination collector/detector/identifier system that uses matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry to acquire a mass spectrum from the collected aerosol sample. The US Department of Defense has supported the development of the z200 mass spectrometer technology in part through the Small Business Innovative Research, or SBIR program.

The company also announced that Dr. Wayne Bryden and Mr. David Seldin have joined the company’s Board of Directors. Dr Bryden is a co-founder and CEO of Zeteo Tech and previously served as the Chief Science Officer at ICx Technologies (acquired by FLIR Systems) and as a DARPA program manager after many years of research at the John Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory. Mr. Seldin is a managing partner at Anzu Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in breakthrough industrial technologies. “BioFlyte is commercializing some much-needed breakthrough technology for the biodefense community,” said Dr. Bryden. “The z200 provides a presumptive identification in five minutes and can be quickly and inexpensively upgraded to detect new or emerging threats.”

For more information about BioFlyte and its products, please visit: https://www.bioflyte.com.

About BioFltye
BioFlyte is a venture-backed biodefense and microbial identification company that is commercializing a revolutionary new class of fieldable biological threat collection, detection, and identification solutions. The firm’s current application focus is critical infrastructure protection and emergency response.

For more information about BioFlyte and its technology, please visit: https://www.bioflyte.com.

About Anzu Partners
Anzu Partners is a venture capital and private equity firm that invests in breakthrough industrial technologies. Anzu teams with entrepreneurs to develop and commercialize technological innovations by providing capital and deep expertise in business development, market positioning, global connectivity, and operations.

For more information, please visit https://anzupartners.com. On Twitter: @anzupartners.

CONTACT
Rob Haralson for BioFlyte
(202) 674-6679,
rhh@anzupartners.com