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Summit Partners

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Case Study:

Advanced Cell Diagnostics

“Summit made an impact even before our investment partnership began, making introductions, offering strategic guidance and providing hands-on operational support that helped us to raise our profile as a leader in precision medicine.”

Yuling Luo, PhD

Dr. Yuling Luo, Founder, President and CEO

Location:
Newark, CA
Leadership:

Yuling Luo
Founded in:
2006
invested in:
2015
Status:

Acquired by Bio-Techne 2016
Summit Team:
Harrison B. Miller
Case Study:

Advanced Cell Diagnostics

Molecular pathology consumable products

Grew revenue by 50% in less than one year

Expanded headcount from 60 to 100+ employees

Expanded product portfolio from 5,000 to 9,000+ probe reagents and reagent kits sold worldwide

Acquired by Bio-Techne Corporation in 2016

Founded in 2006, Advanced Cell Diagnostics (ACD) quickly established itself as a leader in the field of molecular pathology, developing cell- and tissue-based diagnostic tests for personalized medicine and life science research. With a rapidly growing product portfolio based on its proprietary RNAscope® technology, ACD sought an experienced life sciences investor to help expand the company’s go-to-market capability with a focus on international expansion and eCommerce enablement.

How Summit Helped

  • Summit led a Series C equity financing round in 2015
  • Introduced Dr. Ken Fong – founder of former Summit portfolio company Clontech – who became an advisor to ACD
  • Summit’s Peak Performance Group worked closely with management to help ACD optimize its sales force and develop the sales operations function to manage global scale
  • Supported ACD in forming a strategic partnership with Leica Biosystems to develop and commercialize RNAscope-based clinical diagnostics products
  • Assisted ACD in evaluating and managing inbound interest from strategic acquirers

Advanced Cell Diagnostics has continued to build on its market and technology leadership position with its award-winning RNAscope technology. ACD products are used in thousands of leading academic and industrial labs, and in 2015 alone, ACD’s technology was cited in more than 500 peer-reviewed research publications. The company’s strong growth and innovative, transformative technology attracted the attention of strategic acquirer Bio-Techne Corporation (NASDAQ: TECH). The acquisition allowed Bio-Techne to enter the genomics market and to expand its presence in both research and clinical setting. Today, ACD operates as an independent subsidiary of Bio-Techne and is a world leader in RNA biomarker analysis for precision medicine.