Chromatin expands operations to 5,000 square foot facility in University of Illinois' Research Park

Mar 30 2010

The University of Illinois today announces that Chromatin, Inc., a biotechnology company that has occupied space in the University's Research Park since 2005 as part of the EnterpriseWorks incubator, is expanding operations and graduating to a 5,000 square foot facility in the Research Park. The expansion marks the company's continued significant progress in commercializing its proprietary technology, including mini-chromosomes which were originally developed at the University of Chicago by company co-founder and CEO Daphne Preuss.

“Chromatin is graduating from our EnterpriseWorks incubator where the Research Park provided laboratories, equipment and greenhouse space”

Chromatin will transition to the newly constructed facility, which is located in the "Graduation Building" of the Research Park, in April of 2010. With the larger laboratory and office space, the company will continue to expand its R&D activities which enable the development of new seed products and the delivery of multiple genetic traits in plants through gene-stacking, while widening their focus to pursue new applications, such as improved feedstocks targeting the bioenergy sector.

Avijit Ghosh, U of I VP of Technology and Business Development, said Chromatin's commercialization success is a model for biotechnology startups in Illinois. "Chromatin is graduating from our EnterpriseWorks incubator where the Research Park provided laboratories, equipment and greenhouse space," Ghosh said. "IllinoisVentures, the university-affiliated venture capital firm, was an early Chromatin investor. Also, The University of Illinois provided early support to fund student employees to work as researchers for Chromatin, MBA students to provide commercialization consulting, and entrepreneurship support services with regular events and training."

Otto Folkerts, Director of Transgenic Programs and manager of Chromatin's Champaign operation, said the University and Research Park support enabled the company to focus on advancing its technology and its business. "The EnterpriseWorks incubator has been the ideal place to launch our R&D programs in crops such as corn, cotton and sugarcane," Folkerts said. "With the support of EnterpriseWorks, we've been efficient with our resources and better able to focus our efforts on innovation while developing our technology. By expanding the scale of our operations within the Research Park, we can further develop our existing programs and broaden our focus into new areas such as bioenergy feedstocks."

Daphne Preuss, Chromatin's CEO, said "We are very pleased to be growing our presence in the Champaign area and at the University's Research Park location in particular. Our current expansion is a direct result of our success in commercializing Chromatin's technology and successfully attracting financing, both of which were greatly facilitated by the University's resources, facilities and significant talent pool."

Chromatin was founded in 2000, is headquartered in Chicago and initially opened an office/lab in the University of Illinois' EnterpriseWorks incubator in 2005. Chromatin has successfully licensed its technology through commercial agreements with leading agbiotech companies including Syngenta, Monsanto, Dow AgroSciences, and Bayer CropScience, for applications including corn, soybeans, cotton, sugarcane, and canola. The company is now leveraging that success and its core technology base by pursuing new value-added opportunities in the bioenergy feedstocks market. Chromatin now employs over 30 people, including 11 in Champaign, with plans for further increases in 2010.

Ghosh said he hopes other companies follow Chromatin's success model and decide to remain in the park as their businesses grow. "We share in the pride of Chromatin's success," Ghosh said. "Central Illinois and the Midwest are a natural fit to grow the burgeoning 21^st century bioenergy sector given the strength of agricultural research and industry."

www.illinois.edu