Grenoble, France, and Framingham, MA, 17 November, 2009 – CYTOO SA, a provider of innovative enabling technologies and products for high content cell analysis, announces today the opening of its wholly-owned U.S.-based subsidiary, CYTOO Inc., naming William T. Sharp president and CEO. Sharp also becomes a member of the Board of parent company Cytoo SA.

Sharp, who brings 30 years’ life science tools, diagnostics, and clinical product market experience to CYTOO, will have worldwide responsibilities for sales and marketing. He will also be charged with setting up co-distribution and partnership agreements with leading players in the cell based assays for the drug discovery market. Worldwide revenues for cell based assays were USD 1.7 billion in 2007, according to market data.
”Bill Sharp’s arrival as president and CEO of CYTOO, Inc. is the next step in the growth of our company and his commitment is further endorsement of the high potential of our technology and products,” says François Chatelain, co-CEO at CYTOO SA. “Bill’s track-record in strategic business development, leadership skills and in-depth knowledge of the industry means he will significantly reinforce our capacity to manage relations with US customers and provide us with valuable guidance as we grow.”
Prior to joining CYTOO, Sharp was president and CEO of ArunA Biomedical, a privately held stem cell technologies company, where he secured several measures, including licensing, co-development and distribution agreements, and
helped position the company for a series A-round. Before ArunA, he was chief commercial officer at BioProcessors Corporation, a venture-backed company offering proprietary micro-bioreactor technology. There, he played a leading role in raising USD 28 million in a series C financing round. Between 2004 – 2006, Sharp was vice president of business development with Cellomics, a market leader in high content screening technologies. While at Cellomics, he played a key leadership role in the USD 49 million sale of Cellomics to Fisher Scientific International. With a career spanning 30 years, his experience also includes senior leadership roles with Gentra Systems (acquired by Qiagen), Life Technologies (acquired by Invitrogen), Heraeus Instruments and Baxter Healthcare. Sharp earned M.S. and B.A. degrees from The Pennsylvania State
University.
“I look forward to working with my colleagues in France and our growing team here in the USA,” says Sharp. “CYTOO’s proprietary adhesive micropattern technology provides the foundation upon which we are developing and will commercialize a steady stream of innovative products targeted at applications in cell based assays, high content analysis and cell screening.”
“CYTOO’s products aim to help life science researchers take control of their cells by significantly decreasing cell variability and making cellular analysis more robust,” Sharp added. ”This unique capability, along with the team’s highly interactive approach to applications support, will enable CYTOO to form strong
bonds with customers and strategic partners as we work together to advance
their discovery efforts.”
In recent news, CYTOO announced the raising of EUR 3.2 million (USD 4.7 million) in a second round funding. The opening of this U.S. subsidiary and the hire of its CEO concludes a major step in the firm’s evolution and commercial development.