VSTA is stuck with lead-investor Platinum and, who is of little help in bio/pharma world, while Hurel with similar technology for stem cell assay attracts A-List investors:
Hurel Corporation Completes Investment from Johnston Associates, Inc.
Biotech investment veteran Robert F. Johnston joins Hurel investor group
NORTH BRUNSWICK, NJ -- SEPTEMBER 24, 2014
Hurel Corporation ("Hurel"), a world-leading provider of in vitro liver models and microfluidic assay platforms that improve the predictive reliability of pre-clinical drug development, today announced that Johnston Associates, Inc. of Princeton, New Jersey ("JAI") has become a participating investor in the Company's Series A-3 Preferred Stock financing. Hurel's lead private equity investor, Spring Mountain Capital, LP, of New York, led the A-3 round.
Organized in 1968 by Robert F. Johnston, JAI provides venture capital to early-stage companies in the biotechnology and healthcare fields. Mr. Johnston has founded such public companies as Sepracor, Cytogen (acquired by EUSA Pharma), I-STAT (acquired by Abbott), Genex, and Envirogen (sold to Shaw Environmental); and he was instrumental in the early formation of many private companies such as Immunicon (sold to J&J), Praelux (sold to Amersham/GE), and Targent (sold to Spectrum Pharmaceuticals). Mr. Johnston served as CEO of Cytogen from July 1988 to April 1989 and as CEO of Praelux (formerly SEQ) from November 1997 to January 1999. Additionally, he is a member of the Advisory Council of the department of molecular biology at Princeton University, and the Executive Committee of the Friends of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
Everything I post is my biased opinion.
