Life science firm Nabsys closes; approx. 40 lose jobs

NABSYS, a life sciences company that was trying to bring its genome-mapping products to market, closed recently, throwing approximately 40 people out of work.
NABSYS, a life sciences company that was trying to bring its genome-mapping products to market, closed recently, throwing approximately 40 people out of work.

PROVIDENCE – Nabsys Inc., a life sciences company that was trying to bring its genome-mapping products to market, has closed, throwing approximately 40 people out of work.
An employee who declined to give her name answered the phone at the 8-year-old company’s Providence office Monday morning and confirmed the recent closure.
Former employee John F. Thompson, who left Nabsys in April 2014, said he was contacted by several of his former colleagues a few weeks ago about the closing. He said the company has been trying to merge with other firms.
“Unfortunately, if you’re in the biotech industry, this is not unusual. It’s not the only company that I’ve worked for that has gone out of business. It’s a very competitive business. A very small fraction of companies succeed and most do not,” Thompson said.
Richard G. Horan, senior managing director of the Slater Technology Fund, said Slater invested approximately $1 million over the years in Nabsys; all of Slater’s investments were contingent on the company meeting milestones, such as continued progress and developing a board and management team, he said.
Altogether, he said the company raised more than $50 million, including federal funding. In 2013, it raised $20 million in Series D financing led by investor Bay City Capital. Existing investors, including Point Judith Capital and Stata Venture Partners, also contributed to the round. Point Judith Capital was co-founded by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo. Raimondo could not be reached for immediate comment regarding the closure.
Horan said he has watched the company’s development and “is certainly disappointed in the outcome, as is everyone who has been involved.” Still, he said the economic- development return that the company brought to Rhode Island was significant, as it employed 50 people at its peak and provided years of employment for its staff.
Looking back, Horan said management-succession issues and the ability to raise substantial capital to take the company to the next level contributed to Nabsys’ demise.
“The challenges could not be overcome. Comparable companies in this industry typically raise hundreds of millions of dollars in order to succeed. It’s a capital-intensive field,” Horan said.
Nabsys was founded by Dr. Barrett Bready in 2007 from two other companies.

The company last year made key appointments, including naming industry veterans Steve Lombardi and Tony Shuber, as CEO and vice president-chief scientific officer, respectively. Lombardi took over for Bready, who remained on the company’s board and continued to be an investor. Bready could not be immediately reached for comment; neither could board members Leroy Hood, president of the Institute for Systems Biology, and David Martirano, co-founder of Point Judith Capital.

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