CytoBioscience CEO: Going public will speed growth CytoBioscience expects to become a much stronger company with significantly more access to capital once its transformation from being privately owned to publicly traded is complete. I reported last month that the San Antonio-based biotech had essentially acquired, through merger, a subsidiary of WestMountain Co. because its shareholders will have operational control of the new company. CytoBioscience CEO James Garvin said the deal with WestMountain was a necessary move for the company, which moved from Rostock, Germany, to San Antonio in 2015. “People who invest in you are ultimately looking for their exit possibilities. Being public makes that far easier,” Garvin said. “There are far more capital markets available to a public company than a private company. When you put those two things together, this really made sense.” After the process is complete, the company will retain current leadership and its San Antonio address. It’s also expected to keep its CytoBioscience name. What will change is that CytoBioscience will cease being privately held. “There is a process we will need to go through in becoming a public company. … Most of that will get done in the next two to three weeks,” Garvin told me during an exclusive interview at the company’s headquarters in Northwest San Antonio. CytoBioscience has put itself in this position with roughly a dozen people, including Chief Scientific Officer Thomas Knott, who moved with the company from Germany to San Antonio and supports the changes. “Without the team we have, we are nothing. I say that in the greatest sincerity,” Garvin said. “The great thing about this team is that it has weathered a number of storms and stood tall.” The deal with WestMountain should open more doors to funding and talent for the company and its home city. It also gives CytoBioscience firmer footing as it pursues new opportunities for growth. “I do think we have turned an interesting corner. I’m hoping as we move ahead that our pace begins to accelerate,” Garvin said. “I hope that we are a spectacular biotools company at the end of the day — one that makes instruments, conducts research and provides consumables. I think there is a real opportunity for us to do that.”
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