Frankfurt am Main – December 15, 2006 – Nanostart AG has further increased its holding in the US-based company Lumiphore, Inc. Already since 2005, Nanostart has held shares as lead investor in Lumiphore, Inc.

With the closing of the financing round, Nanostart AG is lead investor and the biggest shareholder in Lumiphore, Inc. Immediately prior to the increase of the holding, Nanostart CEO Marco Beckmann assumed a seat on the Board of Directors of the Company where he will represent the interests of Nanostart AG. The company now holds a 17,3 % share in the US-based nanotechnology company.

The company domiciled in Redwood City, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, was founded in 2001. It develops and produces fluorescent nanodetectors which are applied, for example, in research and development of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry or in medicine for diagnosis.

“The increase of our holding in Lumiphore, Inc. as lead investor marks the breakthrough of Nanostart AG in the important US-market,” says Nanostart AG CEO, Marco Beckmann. “Lumiphore Inc. is very well positioned to take a leading role in a high growth rate market worth billions.”

“We are happy to have found Nanostart AG as partner to accompany us on our dynamic path towards growth”, says Dr. Kenneth N. Raymond, professor at the University of California Berkeley and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lumiphore Inc. “Our protected technology sets new standards which meet high demands in the fast growing markets. We want to use the capital invested by Nanostart AG and our other investors to radically advance commercialization.”

It was only back in April that Lumiphore as a first step announced the licensing of its technology to Echelon Biosciences Inc. The US company already today applies the Lumiphore technology in a series of successful products.

Media contact:
Nanostart AG
Public Relations
Dr. Hans Joachim Dürr
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