Recombinetics today announced its new board of directors following this week’s completion of a $34 million Series A financing round.
Gundersen Health System, a physician-led, not-for-profit healthcare system with locations in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa, led the round as a strategic investor and now has three representatives on Recombinetics’ Board.
Following the first meeting of the newly-combined board, Tammy Lee, President and CEO of Recombinetics said, “Gundersen is the perfect strategic partner for Recombinetics because they are at the leading edge of healthcare delivery and medical innovation and share our commitment to investing in breakthroughs to improve human health.” Lee added, “With significant investment capital now focused on new human therapies, we can also allocate resources to our precision-breeding business, Acceligen, to create new partnerships and expand existing contracts with global genetics companies to improve animal health and welfare.”
“Healthcare today is about high-quality patient care and experience, and scientific innovation,” says Scott Rathgaber, MD, chief executive officer, Gundersen Health System. “Gundersen’s mission is to keep patients and the communities we serve healthy and well. Part of this mission is to strategically invest in companies like Recombinetics to ensure we are prepared for future medical advances, like regenerative medicine, while maintaining our reputation as an industry leader in patient care and experience.”
Gundersen has made similar investments into industries that support health and well-being, including Logistics Health, Incorporated; Quartz Health Solutions, Inc.; sustainable energy projects through Gundersen Envision; regional Critical Access Hospitals; and the Ashley Wellness Center with Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc., among other local, regional and national investments.
Recombinetics’ new Board of Directors includes:
Jerry Arndt, a retired Senior Vice President for Gundersen Health System and current Board of Trustees member. Prior to joining Gundersen, Jerry spent more than three decades at La Crosse-based Trane Company, where he worked in engineering, operations and executive leadership.
Dr. Scott Fahrenkrug, Ph.D., Founder of Recombinetics and its business units: Acceligen, Surrogen and Regenevida. Previously he was a tenured Professor of Functional Genomics, and member of the Stem Cell Institute, the Center for Genome Engineering, and the Masonic Cancer Center, all at the University of Minnesota. Prior to academia, Scott was a Molecular Geneticist at the USDA Meat Animal Research Center.
Bill Farrell, Senior Vice President of Business Services for Gundersen Health System. Bill is a mechanical engineer by training with more than 20 years of experience, including various leadership roles at Medtronic. He was also co-founder of FreshRealm, which was a player in disrupting traditional grocery with meal kits in the food industry.
Peter Hajas, Chief Executive Officer of Apex Financial Options. He previously held senior roles at Telluride Asset Management, Knight Trading Group, Arbitrade Holdings, O’Connor & Associates, Swiss Bank Corp. and UBS.
Jim Kilman, Chief Executive Officer of KeilStrand Capital. He previously served as Vice Chairman of Investment Banking at Morgan Stanley and held senior roles at Goldman Sachs, ABN AMRO and PaineWebber.
Scott Rathgaber, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Gundersen Health System and a board-certified gastroenterologist. Dr. Rathgaber, who is a fellow with the American Gastroenterological Association and a member of the American College of Gastroenterology, has cared for patients at Gundersen since 1998 and has been in leadership at Gundersen since 2005.
Justin Zenanko, CPA, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Recombinetics. Zenanko joined Recombinetics in 2011 and worked with Founder, Scott Fahrenkrug, to establish the subsidiaries: Acceligen, Surrogen and Regenevida. Zenanko helped raise the Series A round and the Company’s previous investment capital which includes $27 million in sales of common stock.
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About Recombinetics
Founded in 2008, Recombinetics (RCI) has a proprietary gene-editing technology platform that supports three business lines: Acceligen (precision breeding to enhance health, well-being and productivity in food animals and aquaculture); Surrogen (gene-edited swine models of human diseases for biomedical research and pre-clinical trials by pharmaceutical and medical device companies); and Regenevida (development of human regenerative products including cells, tissues and organ products in swine models for exotransplantation to humans).
Recombinetics has a global intellectual property portfolio, with 22 patents issued and more than 300 patent filings on gene-editing methods, traits, and novel reproduction methods in animals. Learn more at Recombinetics.com.
About Gundersen Health System
Gundersen Health System is a non-profit, comprehensive integrated healthcare network headquartered in La Crosse, Wis. With nearly 8,000 employees in six hospitals and more than 60 clinic locations, Gundersen’s purpose is to enhance the health and well-being of our communities and enrich every life we touch. Learn more about our excellence in patient care, education, research and something we call Love + Medicine at gundersenhealth.org