MicroGen Vet

MicroGen Vet is bringing cutting-edge diagnostic testing to the $27 billion global veterinary healthcare market.

The company is an extension of MicroGenDX, a biotech company that performs DNA-based diagnostic testing to help identify previously unknown illnesses and diseases in humans.

More than 80% of single organism infections, including bacterial and fungal infections, migrate to a mixture of collaborative microbes in the body, also known as biofilms.

Traditional diagnostic testing, which involves a process known as culturing, does not effectively discover or locate these biofilms. And each year, more than 40 million of these tests are performed.

A more effective alternative to this type of testing is what’s called DNA diagnostic testing. According to MicroGenDX, this is the future of how doctors will diagnose and treat infections.

There are two types of DNA diagnostic testing:

Polymerase Chain Reaction, or “PCR,” is a form of testing that is limited in its effectiveness, as each test focuses only on identifying a small number of bacteria.

Next Generation Sequence-based testing, however, or “NGS,” identifies up to 25,000 bacteria and fungi in a single test.

Over the past nine years, MicroGenDX has performed more than 300,000 NGS tests on patients, and has notable customers including the Mayo Clinic and NASA.

Now, the company is expanding its testing services to the veterinary market with MicroGen Vet.

MicroGen Vet brings the benefits of NGS testing to veterinary practices as the exclusive reseller of NGS diagnostic services from MicroGenDX.

The company has developed a test sample kit that is available through veterinary distribution partners.

Customers simply place the sample and order form in the kit, then ship it to MicroGenDX for analysis.

Customers receive PCR results in 24 hours, and comprehensive NGS results in 3 to 4 days.

This is a dramatic increase in efficiency when compared to traditional diagnostic testing, which can take 20 days to produce results.

MicroGen Vet launched in November 2017, initially targeting the U.S. equine and small-animal markets.

The company has supported clinical trials on more than 200 horses through Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital and Colorado State University’s Equine Reproductive Laboratory.

Following these markets, MicroGen Vet will expand its services to exotic animals, livestock, and international veterinary markets in each of these areas.

Due to fewer regulation and billing requirements in the veterinary market than the human market, MicroGen Vet believes it is in prime position to achieve rapid growth in the industry.

In fact, the company believes it can eventually conduct 5 to 10 million tests annually, which would translate to roughly $1 to $2.1 billion of revenue each year.

With funds raised, MicroGen Vet will increase marketing efforts and create regional sales teams to drive growth through additional partners.

Co-Founder and CEO Kurt Dombkowski has experience in the medical industry, having worked more than 17 years for Novartis Pharmaceuticals (NYSE: NVS)…

And Co-Founder and Vice President Raymond Ramey has an extensive history helping businesses grow. He previously facilitated the acquisition of Pepperweed Consulting by a publicly-traded IT distribution company.

Team Background

Raymond Ramey - Co-Founder & VP

Raymond brings extensive financial experience to MicroGen Vet. He has previously worked in the areas of strategy, sales, marketing, and operations.

For more than six years, he served as Chief Financial Officer for Pepperweed Consulting. In July 2012, he was instrumental in the acquisition of Pepperweed Consulting by a publicly-traded IT company.

Following the acquisition, he ran the company’s public sector business and was responsible for the operational performance of the $850 million annual revenue organization.

He has previously served as President of several biotech companies, including PhotoPhage, a company working to commercialize a bacteria diagnostic laboratory testing unit, and HCC Lens, a company focused on streamlining the healthcare documentation process.

Raymond earned a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.

Kurt Dombkowski - Co-Founder & CEO

Prior to starting MicroGen Vet, Kurt served 17 years at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, a global pharmaceutical company that generated $50 billion in revenue in 2017. While there, he worked in the company’s sales and brand management divisions.

For nearly three years, he served as Sales Director for Pioneer Therapeutics, a medical sales company. While there, he built relationships with several industry leaders, including those at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the Biofilm Research Center for Genomic Sciences at Allegheny Health Network.

Kurt received extensive education on Cardiovascular and Diabetes Disease State Management from time spent at the Joslin Diabetes Center at Harvard Medical School.

He holds an MBA.

Co-Investors