Proteome Systems' IPO opens

Australian investors can now buy a piece of North Ryde-based biotechnology company Proteome Systems, the Australian company credited with pioneering the latter-day boom science of proteomics.

Proteome Systems today announced the opening of its initial public offering on the Australian Stock Exchange, which values the company at $120 million.

The company’s founder, Dr Keith Williams, spun the company out of Macquarie University in 1999 to commercialise tools for researchers in the emerging science of functional genomics. It was Williams’ former PhD student, Marc Wilkins -- now the company’s head of bioinformatics -- who coined the term 'proteomics'.

The company has developed an integrated suite of tools and consumables for isolating, identifying and characterizing proteins, around mass spectrometers supplied by its Japanese partner Shimadzu. Proteome's proprietary plug-and-play bioinformatics system, developed in partnership with IBM, completes the package.

Proteome’s IPO is fully underwritten by Patersons Securities, and Foster Stockbroking is broker to the offer.