Successful exit just 1.5 years after the Company’s founding proves investment rationale

Heidelberg, Germany – EMBL Ventures today announced that it has sold its portfolio company Luxendo to Bruker (NASDAQ: BRKR). EMBL Ventures was lead investor with LSP in October 2015 when Luxendo was created as a spin-off by the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and its technology transfer arm EMBLEM Technology Transfer (EMBLEM).

Luxendo develops light-sheet microscopes for life science research using the proprietary Single Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM) technique developed at EMBL. The technology allows scientists to observe living organisms for extended periods of time without them being adversely impacted by photo-toxicity by illuminating sequentially a stack of small slices of the organism that is actively being viewed. Luxendo launched its first two products, the MuVi-SPIM and InVi-SPIM microscopes, in 2016. Luxendo is based in Heidelberg, Germany.

Stefan Herr, Managing Director at EMBL Ventures, said, “We are delighted to have supported Luxendo and its management team from its creation through its development to the important corporate milestone that we have announced today. We have worked closely with the Company to identify this market opportunity and to implement its successful commercialization strategy. We are confident that Bruker will support Luxendo in the next phase of its development, making this exciting and innovative technology available to a growing number of life science researchers around the globe.”

Jürgen Bauer, Deputy Managing Director at EMBLEM, said, “The acquisition of Luxendo by Bruker, just 1.5 years after the Company’s creation, will allow the rapid deployment of EMBL’s proprietary SPIM technology to users worldwide and will provide a strong platform to support Luxendo’s sustained growth. Luxendo’s rapid success would not have been possible without the excellent collaboration within EMBL’s unique technology transfer and innovation ecosystem, which benefits from the great teamwork and enthusiasm of the EMBL scientists and the experienced managers from EMBL Ventures and EMBLEM.”

Andreas Pfuhl, CEO of Luxendo, commented, “Light-sheet microscopy is revolutionizing bio-imaging, and Luxendo, with its SPIM technology, has a highly influential role in the adoption of this type of imaging in an ever-growing variety of live-sample studies. EMBL Ventures and EMBLEM have been instrumental to the development of our business and this exit. We are thrilled to be joining Bruker, an internationally esteemed instrumentation company whose philosophy, culture and vision are so closely aligned with ours.”

“It has been very rewarding to witness the rapid trajectory from pioneering technology developed at EMBL to Luxendo’s well-designed, robust microscopes, and now this acquisition,” said EMBL Director General Iain Mattaj. “We anticipate that Bruker, with its excellent reputation in providing innovative technology, will make SPIM even more widely available. It will be truly exciting to see what the larger biological research community will discover with light-sheet microscopy.”

About EMBL Ventures

EMBL Ventures, based in Heidelberg, invests throughout Europe in life science companies with the aim to create significant commercial opportunities based on new therapeutic treatment modalities, next generation enabling technology platforms or innovations in the diagnostics and device area. EMBL Ventures manages EUR 120 million on behalf of major European institutional and private investors and typically invests as lead or co-lead investor. EMBL Ventures’ close relationship with the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and its technology transfer organization EMBL Enterprise Management Technology Transfer GmbH (EMBLEM) allows it to source and identify disruptive technologies such as Luxendo’s SPIM technology.

For more information, please visit www.embl-ventures.com

About EMBLEM

EMBLEM, established in 1999, identifies, protects and commercializes the intellectual property developed in the EMBL world, from EMBL alumni and from non-EMBL third parties. EMBLEM currently manages a portfolio of more than 350 granted patents and patent applications, and has created 18 spin-out companies. EMBLEM facilitates and accelerates the transfer of innovative technology from basic research to industry by working closely with industrial partners spanning the biotech, IT and mechanical/electrical engineering markets and currently has more than 300 licensees of EMBL technologies.

For more information, please visit www.embl-em.de

About EMBL

EMBL is Europe’s flagship laboratory for the life sciences. Established in 1974 as an intergovernmental organisation, EMBL is supported by over 20 member states. EMBL performs fundamental research in molecular biology, studying the story of life. The institute offers services to the scientific community; trains the next generation of scientists and strives to integrate the life sciences across Europe. EMBL is international, innovative and interdisciplinary. Its more than 1600 staff, from over 80 countries, operate across six sites in Barcelona (Spain), Grenoble (France), Hamburg (Germany), Heidelberg (Germany), Hinxton (UK) and Monterotondo (Italy). EMBL scientists work in independent groups and conduct research and offer services in all areas of molecular biology. EMBL research drives the development of new technology and methods in the life sciences. The institute works to transfer this knowledge for the benefit of society.

For more information, please visit www.embl.org

About Luxendo

Luxendo launched the MuVi-SPIM and InVi-SPIM microscopes in 2016. Both microscopes avoid sample phototoxicity by sequentially illuminating a stack of small slices of the organism, allowing scientists to observe living organisms for extended periods of time without photodamage. The MuVi-SPIM microscope allows fast 3D imaging of living objects, such as spheroids and whole specimens without the need of sample rotation. The InVi-SPIM microscope enables fast 3D imaging with extremely gentle sample handling for cell cultures and developing embryonic samples.

Staatz Business Development & Strategy acted as transaction advisor to Luxendo.

For more information, please visit www.luxendo.eu

About Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR)

For more than 55 years, Bruker has enabled scientists to make breakthrough discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life. Bruker’s high-performance scientific instruments and high-value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, productivity and customer success in life science molecular research, in applied and pharma applications, and in microscopy, nano-analysis and industrial applications. In recent years, Bruker has also become a provider of high-performance systems for cell biology, preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics and proteomics research, clinical microbiology, and for molecular pathology research. For more information, please visit: www.bruker.com