05.01.04
WellGen, Inc., New Brunswick, NJ, a biotechnology company using nutragenomics to develop wellness products from plants that alter the expression of genes responsible for human disease, has received $3 million in the form of equity capital, through a private offering of preferred stock, from venture-capital investors led by Amphion Capital Partners LLC, New York, NY. The funding will enable WellGen to introduce its first product, currently in clinical trials, and to advance other identified compounds to the human clinical trial stage, as well as to identify additional product candidates. WellGen’s first product is based on phytochemicals found in orange peel, which inhibit colon and breast cancer in mice. Currently undergoing human clinical trials, WellGen is developing this product into nutraceutical products including a food supplement with beneficial properties, to be marketed initially to the dietary supplement and human beverage markets. WellGen’s other product candidates include phytochemicals it has identified in black tea, licorice and cranberries.