Philly loses BioNanomatrix headquarters to San Diego

BioNanomatrix today announced it had opened its new headquarters offices in San Diego, although it will maintain its Philadelphia offices. The company, which is developing a nanotechnology-based single-molecule imaging platform for low-cost whole genome analysis, had announced plans to add a West Coast presence when it closed a $23.3-million Series B round (pdf) of equity financing earlier this year. It had not been clear at that time, however, that BioNanomatrix would be relocating its headquarters.



CEO Dr. R. Erik Holmlin said in a statement "that while a number of key employees are moving from Philadelphia to San Diego, the company’s East Coast office will remain 'an important site for ongoing research and development' of its systems in the field and support for users". BioNanomatrix also named two new key executives today.


BioNanomatrix was spun out of a research project at Princeton by its founder, Chief Scientific Officer Han Cao, in 2003. It is not clear whether Dr. Cao is relocating to San Diego. The company's headquarters have been located at Philadelphia's University Science Center. Ironically, its new headquarters will be at San Diego's University Science Center.