LineaGen grew out of the fertile genetic research environment at the University of Utah. In response to the large number of seminal genetic discoveries being made there, several of the University's senior researchers and administrators formed a committee in 2001 to explore possibilities for enhancing and leveraging Utah's genetic research assets. The committee decided to create a separate non-profit organization.

With support from then-Utah Governor Michael O. Leavitt, currently U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and with a $4-million appropriation from the Utah Legislature, GenData Research Corporation was formally launched in 2002. The organization, led by Dr. Stephen M. Prescott and Dr. Michael S. Paul, was designed to further globally significant genetic research, attract private and corporate capital, and enhance economic development in Utah's burgeoning biotechnology sector.

In 2003, GenData Research Corporation was renamed LineaGen Research Corporation (LRC), and began sponsoring initiatives to enhance Utah's genetic research assets, including:

• An early project linking the Utah Population Database, the world's foremost population database, with the extensive medical records in the University of Utah Medical Record Data Warehouse.


• The Utah Psoriasis Initiative (UPI), one of the most comprehensive studies ever performed into the disease's molecular causes. This research achieved great success and resulted in a collaboration with Celera Diagnostics (NYSE: CRA), which has since resulted in major biomarker discoveries that are currently being commercialized.


• Research related to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), the fourth-leading cause of death in the U.S. In 2004, LineaGen began a discovery collaboration with Battelle Memorial Institute and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to identify protein and metabolite biomarkers associated with COPD. In 2005, this collaboration identified a panel of biomarkers associated with COPD, which led to a research and license collaboration with a major pharmaceutical company.

In 2007, LineaGen, Inc. launched as a private company, after successfully completing a Series A funding round of $5.8 million led by vSpring Capital and Sanderling Ventures. Mesa Verde Venture Partners also participated in the round. The company has identified several genes and peptide markers associated with COPD; these discoveries are currently being replicated and expanded to provide a better understanding of their utility in improving disease diagnosis and treatment. LineaGen is also performing significant exploratory research with university and corporate partners in a number of important medical areas, including autism, multiple sclerosis and osteoporosis.