TriMetis acquires bioscience start-up FoundationBio

TriMetis Life Sciences is expanding its geographic reach with the acquisition of biospecimen procurement start-up FoundationBio, which has offices in Memphis and Boston. FoundationBio obtains specimens for research by utilizing access to tissue donors via hospitals and community oncology clinics and their supporting pathology and laboratory services partners around the world.
 
The acquisition brings total employment at TriMetis to seven, and the company expects to hire an additional five to 15 employees during the next six to 12 months. 
 
Jon Wetzel, new Chief Operating Officer of TriMetis and FoundationBio, recently relocated from Boston to Memphis with his family. FoundationBio Founder and President and new TriMetis VP of Business Development Leif Honda plans to remain in the Boston area. 
 
"You don't normally do an acquisition and triple your executive team right away, and get a group that already knows that they work well together," says Phil Cestaro, TriMetis Chief Executive Officer and President. "We overuse the statement '1 + 1 = 3,' but this is a perfect example. We're excited and looking forward to growing as a group and exploring new opportunities for growth."
 
TriMetis will be adding a chief scientific officer in the months ahead, as well as some techs, a financial analyst and other executives, according to Cestaro.
 
"We will probably also have people located on the west coast sometime in the near future, just from a sales and a reach perspective," he says.
 
Cestaro and Honda, who attended the same college, realized they were involved in some similar areas after establishing a connection over LinkedIn.
 
Honda ultimately chose to partner with a Memphis-based company due in large part to Memphis' stellar biologistical capabilities.
 
"It's really been a winning combination interacting with Memphis Bioworks Foundation and their support for building a life sciences corridor," says Honda. "Within a five-mile radius you have more than $2 billion going into life sciences--that's a pretty impressive number when compared to other cities across the U.S."
 
By Michael Waddell