French biotech firm IMV buys ova grading pioneer GenetiRate
US company GenetiRate, which uses a patented technology to establish how well fish are likely to grow while still at an embryonic stage, has been bought by French animal assisted reproduction specialist IMV Technologies.
GenetiRate’s award-winning technology is based on metabolic rate - fish ova with a high metabolic rate grow faster – and complements IMV’s existing aquaculture services which comprise milt management, cryopreservation, fertility, egg sorting, training and ultrasound.
Benjamin Renquist, of the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, developed GenetiRate’s technology and built the company with support from aquaculture investment group Hatch Blue, which has sold the company to IMV.
‘A natural fit’
“With similar customer bases and products and a shared focus on technology development, joining the IMV family was a natural fit,” said Renquist. “IMV will provide the foundation for us to rapidly expand the application of GenetiRate’s technologies to enhance production across the aquaculture industry. We look forward to developing technology to automate our selection process in most species.”
IMV’s director of innovation, science, and technology, Dr Eric Schmitt, said Renquist and his lab had developed important technology “that we believe should be taken to the market for the benefit of the salmon, trout industries and beyond”.
Doug Hockstad, assistant vice president of Arizona University’s commercialisation arm, Tech Launch Arizona, said: “IMV’s acquisition of GenetiRate is great news for the technology’s future, and a testament to the impactful research being undertaken at UArizona.
“This is a great achievement for Dr Renquist and we and look forward to working with him more in the future.”
First Hatch exit
The acquisition marks the first exit for Hatch as a venture capital fund. Managing partner Carsten Krome said: “We are happy to have identified, invested in and sold a company in just under two years with a technology that will make the sector an order of magnitude more efficient.
“It’s great to see how our model of investing in sustainable aquaculture innovation and providing in-depth market know-how and network creates value to industry and investors alike.”
IMV Technologies entered into the aquaculture industry in the early 2000’s with the acquisition of early salmonid egg-sorting technology, the Sustaf. Its presence later expanded to media and solutions for the preservation and storage of milt and eggs. The acquisition of ProSorter technology in 2016 cemented the company’s recognition as commercial provider of assisted reproduction technology for salmonids.
