ORIG3N™ Closes Latest Round of Funding; Welcomes New Board Member and New Investor

BOSTON, June 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ORIG3N, Inc., a Boston-based biomedical research company, has announced the addition of Byron Smith to its Board of Directors and Spectrum Health Ventures (SHV) to its investor syndicate. The announcements come on the heels of the close of ORIG3N's latest round of funding. ORIG3N has raised over $30 million in capital to date since it was founded in 2014.

Byron Smith brings decades of industry experience to ORIG3N's board of directors. Mr. Smith is currently a Principal at Mountain Group Partners (MGP), a Fund dedicated to investing in and guiding transformation businesses in the life science and technology sectors. Prior to his involvement with MGP, Mr. Smith held a long and distinguished career in the wireless and tech spaces. He began his career in brand management and advertising, before moving to Silicon Valley and transitioning into tech, where he gained experience in media/content and internet technology/infrastructure. Now, back on the East Coast, Mr. Smith serves on or has visitation rights to the board of directors of many companies in the health services sector.

"We are very excited to have Byron bring his consumer-driven expertise to ORIG3N," said Robin Y. Smith, CEO, ORIG3N. "ORIG3N is an increasingly consumer-facing startup that is growing at an exponential rate, and Byron's experience across a diverse range of industries will help facilitate and propel ORIG3N's development and expansion."

The addition of Spectrum Health Ventures to the investor syndicate will also support ORIG3N's continuing growth. SHV was founded in 2017 to manage a $100 million fund on behalf of Spectrum Health, an integrated health system with over 12 hospitals, more than 180 service sites and 3,200 providers, and a health plan with about 796,000 members. Spectrum Health is among the Top 15 Health Systems in the nation. SHV seeks investment opportunities with companies that have developed products, services, and emerging technologies that drive innovative health solutions. With a focus on partnering with entrepreneurs who are transforming and disrupting health care's status quo, SHV found a natural alignment with ORIG3N's mission to disrupt medicine and democratize the future of health. 

This round of funding was led by Hatteras Venture Partners. All current syndicate members participated. Spectrum Health Ventures joined existing investors Hatteras Venture Partners, LabCorp, Syno Capital, KTB-KORUS Fund, MGC Venture Partners, DEFTA Partners, and 180 Degree Capital.

"The continued support of our existing investors and the confidence of our new investors will enable us to expand and intensify our research efforts into the development of cell therapies," said Robin Y. Smith. "Our community building in the past three years has put us in the incredible position of having the world's only fully-matched allogeneic cell bank, which presents us with the opportunity to take a larger and more active role in setting the standard for scientific innovation and discovery."

Since its inception, ORIG3N has been on a mission to further the common good and advance the future of health through genetics and regenerative medicine research. ORIG3N has led the movement to personalize health with a community-oriented approach, driven by the guiding belief that together with our community, treatments and cures can be found faster. ORIG3N believes that when people better understand the links between genes, health, and wellness, they can make educated, proactive choices about their futures. In support of this goal, ORIG3N participates in patient-fueled research and development initiatives, offers a line of direct-to-consumer health and wellness genetic tests, and cultivates an engaged community through events and educational initiatives.

About Spectrum Health Ventures
Founded in 2017, Spectrum Health Ventures (SHV) manages a $100 million fund on behalf of Spectrum Health. The fund is designed to achieve venture class returns through investments that drive innovative health solutions, align strategically with Spectrum Health's core businesses, and strengthen the organization's mission and vision. SHV invests in projects or companies that target access solutions, population & health analytics, genomics & personalized medicine, artificial intelligence & cognitive computing, consumer wellness & behavioral health, as well as health-related products and services. For more information, visit: http://www.spectrumhealth.org.

About Hatteras Venture Partners IV, LP   
Hatteras Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that seeks to transform medicine through seeding and growing the next generation of innovative companies in human medicine. Today, the firm manages over $350 million in five venture capital funds.  Since 2000, Hatteras has invested in over 50 companies, with a focus on biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, healthcare IT, and related opportunities in human health. While Hatteras has invested in companies throughout the nation, the firm is a leader in the research-driven regions of North Carolina and the Southeastern United States. For more information, visit: www.hatterasvp.com.

About LabCorp
LabCorp provides leading-edge medical laboratory tests and services through a national network of primary clinical laboratories and specialty testing laboratories. With scientific expertise in esoteric testing, genomics, and clinical and anatomic pathology, LabCorp processes tests on approximately 500,000 specimens each day, applying advances in medicine and science to laboratory testing. For more information, visit: www.labcorp.com.

About Syno Capital, LLC
Syno Capital is a global cross border venture capital firm dedicated to life science and healthcare. Aside from being resourceful in the United States, it provides help to its portfolio companies in expanding into the Greater China region. Syno Capital has extensive experience in building partnerships in China and its network of strategic partners can accelerate the growth of companies both domestically and internationally. For more information, visit: www.synocapital.com.

About KTB-KORUS Fund    
Founded in 1981 as one of the first venture capital firms in Korea, KTB has consistently proven itself as a premier investment company. Throughout KTB's over 30 years of history, more than 250 portfolio companies of KTB went IPO in Korea and overseas, accounting for over 10% of Korean IPOs. The venture capital entity in Korea and China are under the name KTB Network and the entity in the US is under KTB Ventures.

About MGC Venture Partners 2013, L.P.   
MGC Venture Partners 2013, LP (the "Fund") is a fund that seeks to invest in seed and early stage companies focused on two major sectors: Life Sciences and Technology. Within the Life Sciences sector, the Fund primarily focuses on investments in the diagnostics, medical device, and nutraceuticals and expedited drug development sub-sectors. Within the Technology sector, the Fund has a concentration in healthcare technology, business services and consumer technology companies. For more information, visit: www.mtngp.com.  

About DEFTA Partners
DEFTA Partners is a global venture capital firm founded in 1985, which is headquartered in San Francisco and Tokyo. It invests in early stage, high potential companies that have the capacity to transform the IT and health technologies sectors. Over the past thirty years DEFTA has supported the growth of more than a hundred early stage companies thought the US, Japan, Israel, the UK and in emerging countries, with many successful exits. For more information, visit: www.deftapartners.com.

About 180 Degree Capital Corp.
180 Degree Capital Corp. is a publicly traded registered closed-end fund focused on investing in and providing value-added assistance through constructive activism to what it believes are substantially undervalued small, publicly traded companies that have potential for significant turnarounds.  Its goal is that the result of its constructive activism leads to a reversal in direction for the share price of these investee companies, i.e., a 180-degree turn. For more information, visit: www.180degreecapital.com. 

About ORIG3N, Inc. 
Founded in 2014, ORIG3N exists at the intersection of biological science and emerging technology. Through our DNA tests and community events, we help people understand the links between their genes and how their minds and bodies work. Our research team uses cutting-edge cellular science to develop personalized therapies for repairing tissue damage and disease. Together with our community, we're on a mission to accelerate the future of regenerative medicine. For more information, visit www.orig3n.com.

Contact: Hannah May, 6142186022, [email protected]

SOURCE ORIG3N, Inc.

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