​Entrepreneur Returns to NJEDA’s Life Sciences Incubator to Launch Genesis Imaging Services

TRENTON, N.J. (April 2, 2019) – Responding to a growing need to find a cure for fibrotic diseases, Genesis Imaging Services offers cloud-based image analysis tools for scientists and researchers from its new home at the Commercialization Center for Innovative Technologies (CCIT) – a life sciences incubator owned by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA).

With an initial focus on a liver condition called “nonalcoholic steatohepatitis,” more commonly known as NASH, Genesis Imaging is developing novel automated tissue imaging methods to quantify fibrosis and sees its proprietary image analysis methods as instrumental to scientists and researchers developing pre-clinical and clinical-stage therapies. Genesis Imaging’s pipeline includes image analysis tools to quantify collagen/fibrosis in liver, kidney, lung, heart, gastrointestinal track, and skin fibrotic diseases, as well as several cancer conditions where the extracellular fibrotic structure matters.

Genesis Imaging has conducted and published collaborative projects with the Cleveland Clinic, University of Michigan, University of Florida, University of San Diego, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and the NASH-Clinical Research Network, and has serviced major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in the field of fibrosis quantification. The company’s funnel of academic and industrial collaborations is expanding rapidly worldwide.

Genesis Imaging moved to the CCIT life sciences incubator in North Brunswick after outgrowing the shared workspace it had been leasing in Princeton.

Genesis Imaging Chief Executive Officer Mathieu Petitjean says he was drawn to CCIT for its reputation and high-quality program, which includes a suite of amenities and numerous networking and collaboration opportunities. Petitjean, a resident of Branchburg, sees Genesis Imaging’s arrival at CCIT as a homecoming of sorts. He was LLTech’s chief operating officer of US operations during the company’s time at CCIT in 2011 and 2012.

“When it came time to find lab space for Genesis Imaging, I knew right away that CCIT offered the amenities we needed,” Petitjean said. “We couldn’t be happier with the personalized attention, affordable lab space, and access to business-development resources. Locating in central New Jersey also positions us well to form partnerships with the many large pharmaceutical companies based in the Garden State.”

Strategically placed in the heart of the State’s research corridor between Rutgers and Princeton universities, CCIT offers 27 wet labs, the most of any life sciences incubator in New Jersey. Currently home to nearly two-dozen businesses, the 46,000-square-foot incubator includes both small and large labs, as well as offices. CCIT also offers discounted first-year rent for university spinouts. Additionally, CCIT provides tenant companies like Genesis Imaging with educational programs and a host of supporting resources, including help to identify funding sources and access to small business development resources, networking opportunities, and administrative support.

“Seeing innovative entrepreneurs like Mathieu choose to locate in New Jersey reaffirms Governor Murphy’s message that the Garden State is reemerging as leader in innovation,” NJEDA CEO Tim Sullivan said. “We are pleased that Genesis Imaging has chosen to be part of the exciting things that are happening at CCIT.”

CCIT is located within the Technology Centre of New Jersey, a 50-acre research park that houses such companies as Allergan, Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health USA, Inc., and CCIT graduate Orthobond. Companies interested in touring CCIT should visit www.njeda.com/CCIT or contact Lenzie Harcum at lharcum@njeda.com.

Read the full article here.