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MORRISVILLE, N.C., May 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Applied LifeSciences & Systems (ALSS) announced today the initial close of a $7 million Series B equity financing. The financing was co-led by Merck Animal Health and Mountain Group Partners. Oval Park Capital, a Raleigh-based early-stage investment firm also has participated in the round. ALSS integrates its proprietary technologies in high-speed imaging, feature recognition, artificial intelligence, robotics and microfluidics in a system currently developed for the commercial poultry industry. This system can individually and accurately vaccinate up to 100,000 chicks per hour against diseases such as coccidiosis, infectious bronchitis and Newcastle disease. 

The Series B investment will allow ALSS to accelerate the commercialization of its automated and individualized poultry vaccination systems. 

"At ALSS, we have developed a series of patented platform technologies to rapidly and accurately vaccinate individual animals.  This will ensure the best protection against some of the most harmful diseases and significantly increase proactive vaccination to further prevent the spread of disease and reduce the use of antibiotics and chemicals in the protein production industries today. Our initial product line has successfully demonstrated targeting and vaccine delivery at the high speeds and accuracy needed to integrate and support improved bird performance within current commercial poultry operations," said  Ramin Karimpour, ALSS Founder and CEO. "We look forward to the successful commercialization and launch of our systems in 2022. We are highly excited to continue our partnership with Merck Animal Health, a leader in the global animal health industry,  Mountain Group Partners, one of the top investors in Life Sciences and Animal Health industries, and Oval Park, a local early-stage investment firm." 

"We are delighted with the progress by the ALSS team," said Stephen Murray, B.V.Sc., executive director, Merck Animal Health Ventures. "Merck Animal Health's investments in early-stage technology have the potential to deliver meaningful innovation to our customers, which complements our own portfolio of medicines, vaccines and technology services. Leveraging our knowledge of poultry vaccination alongside ALSS is enabling their breakthrough technology to significantly increase vaccination rates and enhance poultry production, management and health outcomes."  

"We are very pleased with the progress that ALSS has made toward commercialization of its disruptive vaccine delivery technology. ALSS's technology will significantly improve vaccination efficiency and provide a great tool to producers. We look forward to working with ALSS as they take this next step forward into commercialization" said Rob Readnour, Managing Director at Mountain Group Partners.

"The ALSS team has made tremendous progress developing their novel individual vaccine delivery system for the poultry industry," said Justin Wright-Eakes, Managing Partner at Oval Park Capital. "We are delighted to continue supporting ALSS as it transitions into the commercialization and growth phases, and we're excited to watch the transformative impact of ALSS' technology on global protein production in the coming years."

About Applied LifeSciences & Systems

Based in Morrisville, NC, ALSS is a Biomedical Systems company poised to transform animal protein production industries worldwide by bringing affordable, individualized care technologies to the market.  World meat consumption is expected to double by 2050. The world's growing population along with the popularity of animal protein is responsible for the growth in meat consumption. While the industry has improved efficiency, production processes, and veterinary care to meet this increasing demand, the recent demand for antibiotic-free protein, driven by consumers and regulatory changes, makes the achievement of this target challenging in the future. When antibiotics are removed from the production process, animals not vaccinated or not fully vaccinated are susceptible to infections leading to sickness and death.  The industry trend towards antibiotic-free production has led to producers' demand for novel solutions to improve health standards and vaccination procedures allowing for a similar level of productivity in the absence of antibiotics and other chemicals.  ALSS is bringing advanced technology solutions to the Poultry, Aquaculture and Swine industries to address this demand. For more information, visit www.als-s.com.

About the Investors

Merck Animal Health

For 130 years, Merck, a leading global biopharmaceutical company, has been inventing for life, bringing forward medicines and vaccines for many of the world's most challenging diseases. Merck Animal Health, a division of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA, is the global animal health business unit of Merck. Through its commitment to The Science of Healthier Animals^®, Merck Animal Health offers veterinarians, farmers, pet owners and governments one of the widest ranges of veterinary pharmaceuticals, vaccines and health management solutions and services as well as an extensive suite of digitally connected identification, traceability and monitoring products. Merck Animal Health is dedicated to preserving and improving the health, well-being and performance of animals and the people who care for them. It invests extensively in dynamic and comprehensive R&D resources and a modern, global supply chain. Merck Animal Health is present in more than 50 countries, while its products are available in some 150 markets. For more information, visit www.merck-animal-health.com or connect with us on LinkedIn,  Facebook, and Twitter at @MerckAH.

Mountain Group Partners

Mountain Group Partners ("MGP") is an investor dedicated to investing in and actively guiding transformational businesses in the Life Sciences, Animal Health, and Technology sectors. Founded in 2002, MGP has invested in more than 50 companies in these sectors. MGP invests in seed and early-stage companies. Within Life Sciences, the firm focuses on MedTech, Diagnostics, and Opportunistic Drug Development. MGP places a premium on those innovations that have existing intellectual property or a novel scientific foundation for building intellectual property. Animal Health investments focus on disruptive technologies that have a meaningful impact on global animal health and animal agriculture. Technology investments focus on business and healthcare technology, targeting those ideas with quantifiable development risk and a rapid path to market.  For more information, visit www.mtngp.com.

Oval Park Capital

Oval Park Capital invests in early-stage deep tech companies with exceptional founders, operating in underserved markets, and commercializing disruptive technologies that solve costly problems in large, inefficient global industries. Oval Park strives to support traditionally underrepresented founders and places special emphasis on investments that have the potential to not only provide strong investment returns but also generate strong positive social and environmental impact.  For more information, visit www.ovalpark.com.

ALSS Media Contact: 

Jason Fryar

919-522-3901

jasonfryar1@als-s.com

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SOURCE Applied LifeSciences & Systems