Breakout Labs and Becton, Dickinson and Company Partner to Provide Capital and Expertise to Biomedical Startups

Breakout Labs, Peter Thiel’s philanthropic revolving fund for early-stage science and technology companies, and BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX) announced today that they have established a strategic relationship to provide additional grant funding and professional expertise to qualifying Breakout Labs portfolio companies.

Under the terms of the agreement, BD will periodically review Breakout Labs’ portfolio for companies developing cutting-edge technologies that are relevant to the strategic interests of BD’s Medical and Life Sciences business segments. Breakout Labs companies selected to participate will be given an unrestricted grant of up to $25,000 from BD, and assigned a business mentor responsible for providing guidance and connections to subject matter experts throughout the company.

“At BD, our goal is to find and nurture cutting-edge technologies that will improve healthcare delivery and outcomes, realizing that such opportunities will not just come from within our walls,” said Ellen Strahlman, Executive Vice President R&D and Chief Medical Officer at BD. “Breakout Labs brings a fresh approach to finding and supporting the kind of desperately needed innovations that will improve health around the world. We’re excited to lend our financial assistance and subject matter expertise to help these companies flourish.”

In a pilot run of this relationship, Breakout Labs portfolio company CytoVale received a grant from BD. CytoVale management was also connected with Dr. Andrea Liebmann-Vinson at BD’s Corporate Innovation Center in Research Triangle Park, N.C., who will forge relationships within BD that may provide the San Francisco startup with technical evaluations as well as assistance understanding regulatory, clinical, reimbursement and manufacturing challenges required to bring a product to market.

“We’re excited to be partnering with an industry leader such as BD and deeply value BD’s financial and in-kind commitments towards accelerating commercialization of our cutting-edge cell analysis technology. We’ve already benefited from our early interaction with the team at BD, and look forward to continued engagement,” said Ajay Shah, CEO of CytoVale.

“When radical scientific ideas advance from the lab and into the market, everyone wins,” said Lindy Fishburne, Executive Director of Breakout Labs. “BD deeply understands this and can help our companies tackle some of their technical and operational challenges much more efficiently and adeptly than they could on their own.”

About BREAKOUT LABS

Breakout Labs, a program of the Thiel Foundation, is reshaping the way early-stage science and technology companies are funded. Founded in 2011, Breakout Labs has supported 22 companies in areas ranging from food science and biomedicine to clean energy. For many of these companies, Breakout Labs was the first external investor. Breakout Labs provides up to $350,000 for companies to achieve specific milestones that are critical to their development. In addition to funding, Breakout Labs companies benefit directly from a 2-year program of mentorship and networking, with access to the Thiel Foundation’s large community of investors, innovators, and entrepreneurs. Successful grantees return a capped royalty stream and a small percentage of equity in their company to Breakout Labs and thereby contribute to the next generation of scientific innovation. For more information, see www.BreakoutLabs.org.

About BD

BD is a leading medical technology company that partners with customers and stakeholders to address many of the world’s most pressing and evolving health needs. Our innovative solutions are focused on improving medication management and patient safety; supporting infection prevention practices; equipping surgical and interventional procedures; improving drug delivery; aiding anesthesiology and respiratory care; advancing cellular research and applications; enhancing the diagnosis of infectious diseases and cancers; and supporting the management of diabetes. We are more than 45,000 associates in 50 countries who strive to fulfill our purpose of “Helping all people live healthy lives” by advancing the quality, accessibility, safety and affordability of healthcare around the world. In 2015, BD welcomed CareFusion and its products into the BD family of solutions. For more information on BD, please visit www.bd.com.

About CytoVale

CytoVale is a venture-backed life sciences tools and diagnostics startup based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 2013, the company is commercializing innovative cell handling and analysis technology developed at UCLA. This platform enables rapid, label-free, assessment of cells’ biophysical properties and is being used to power a range of applications in clinical diagnostics.