Halo Labs, a life science instrumentation company developing tools for biologics researchers, today announced it has closed a $12M Series B1 financing round led by Research Corporation Technologies (RCT). The funding will be used for expanding Halo Labs' world-wide Sales presence and the continued development of the company's next-generation product portfolio. In addition, Halo Labs is actively looking at acquiring complementary technologies and companies to expand into the analytical particle space.

The Horizon instrument performs high throughput subvisible particle (SVP) analysis using volumes as low as 25 µL, ensuring samples can be saved for other analyses or for replicates. It has a 96-well membrane plate that allows several parameters to be tested in a short amount of time without dilution or sample preparation.

"Horizon is crucial at every stage of biologic drug formulation," said Chad Souvignier, Vice President of RCT. "In early stages, it can reveal SVP formation missed by other techniques such as light obscuration and flow imaging. In later stages, it can differentiate proteins from extrinsic particles such as glass and plastic. And given the experience of the Halo Labs management team in product development and Sales, we are eager to find other technologies that we can help bring to market." Additional backers included BroadOak Capital Partners, BioAdvance, top level industry executive Paul McEwan, and other current employees.

"The success of Horizon, especially in the Gene Therapy field, provides confirmation that next-generation product development is critical. There is so much more this technology can provide in a variety of markets," said Robert Wicke, CEO of Halo Labs. "One of our latest customers, the US FDA, will be using the product to help understand the risks for patients on drug product manufacturing. This is a further indication that Horizon is the product of choice for particle analysis in the subvisible range.

Halo Labs serves customers from the drug discovery phase through formulations and bioprocessing, empowering researchers to learn more about the stability and quality of their biological drugs faster and with more accuracy. Over the years, Halo Labs has been the recipient of many prestigious awards and has received many research grants from agencies including DARPA, FDA, NSF, NIST, and NIH.

About Halo Labs
Halo Labs in Burlingame, CA, is a venture-backed scientific instrumentation and consumable company that commercializes high throughput biopharmaceutical formulation and quality control tools for subvisible particle analysis using state-of-the-art custom optics and image processing techniques. Researchers around the globe depend on Halo Labs for unprecedented insights into subvisible particles present in their processes via optical imaging on membranes. For more information, visit www.halolabs.com.

About RCT
Research Corporation Technologies (RCT) in Tucson, Ariz., is a technology investment and management company that provides early-stage funding and development for promising biomedical companies and technologies. RCT focuses on investing in technology that originated in universities and research institutions worldwide. http://www.rctech.com