BioTech Startups right now
London’s predictive healthcare and research platform Huma raises $130 million in Series C round
London-based Huma Therapeutics has closed a Series C funding round at $130 million. Led by Leaps by Bayer and Hitachi Ventures, Samsung Next, Sony Innovation Fund by IGV, Unilever Ventures, and HAT Technology & Innovation Fund by HAT, also participated, as well as individual investors Nikesh Arora and Michael Diekmann.
As part of the round, an additional $70 million can be accessed at a later date, effectively bringing the raise to $200 million.
Huma reports that the funding will be used to scale their modular ‘hospitals at home’ platform in the UK, as well as support the largest decentralised clinical trials for the pharmaceutical and research industries in the US, Asia, and Middle East markets.
Founded in 2011 by Dan Vahdat and Rich Khatib, the Huma platform combines a proprietary predictive algorithm, biomarkers, and real-world data to effectively double clinical capacity, and reduce hospital readmission rates by one-third.
London’s predictive healthcare and research platform Huma raises $130 million in Series C round - Tech.eu
London-based Huma Therapeutics has closed a…
Direct-to-consumer orthodontic startup Impress raises $50M to scale across Europe
Impress, a Southern European player in direct-to-consumer orthodontics, has raised a $50 million Series A funding round led by CareCapital (a dental division of Hillhouse Capital in Asia), along with Nickleby Capital, UNIQA Ventures and investors including Michael Linse, Valentin Pitarque, Peter Schiff, Elliot Dornbusch and others. All existing shareholders, such as TA Ventures and Bynd VC, also participated.
Impress is an homage to the direct-to-consumer startups in this area in the U.S., such as SmileDirect, and now plans to scale across Europe from its existing bases in Spain, Italy, Portugal, the U.K. and France.
The company was founded in 2019 in Barcelona by orthodontist Dr. Khaled Kasem and serial entrepreneurs Diliara and Vladimir Lupenko.
Direct-to-consumer orthodontic startup Impress raises $50M to scale across Europe
Or, perhaps more accurately, the arena of orthodontics — the specialty of dentistry that deals with things like braces — is slowly but surely being digitalized. To whit, Impress, a Southern European player in direct-to-consumer orthodontics, has raised a $50 million Series A funding round led by CareCapital (a dental division of Hillhouse Capital in Asia), along with Nickleby Capital, UNIQA Ventures and investors including Michael Linse, Valentin Pitarque, Peter Schiff, Elliot Dornbusch and others.
Belfast’s VascVersa raises funding round for its cell therapy
Medtech start-up VascVersa, a spin-out from Queen’s University Belfast, has closed a “six-figure” funding round.
The round was led by QUBIS, the arm of Queen’s responsible for investing in university spin-outs and helping them commercialise.
Co-Fund NI, a fund backed by government agency Invest NI for investing in Northern Irish start-ups, and the Halo Business Angel Network (HBAN) also participated in the funding. No specific figures for the investment round were disclosed.
VascVersa is developing a cell treatment for vascular regeneration to repair damaged blood vessels. Its technology stimulates new blood vessel formation to improve blood supply and healing. The start-up is targeting its treatment initially at non-healing wounds like diabetic foot ulcers.
Belfast’s VascVersa raises funding round for its cell therapy
The medtech start-up, spun out from Queen’s University, is developing a new treatment to aid in the repair of damaged blood vessels.
Cue Health Raises $235M in Financing
Cue Health Inc., a San Diego, CA-based health technology company, closed a $235m financing round.
Backers included Perceptive Advisors, MSD Capital, and Koch Strategic Platforms, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, existing investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Inc. (JJDC), Decheng Capital, Cavu Ventures, ACME Capital, and others.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate growth.
Led by Ayub Khattak, co-founder and CEO, Cue is a health technology company that enables people to manage their health through real-time, actionable and connected health data. The company offers individuals and healthcare providers access to lab-quality diagnostic testing at home, at work, or at the point-of-care, all in a handly device.
Cue Health Raises $235M in Financing - FinSMEs
Cue Health Inc., a San Diego, CA-based health technology company, closed a $235m financing round
Aetion Raises $110M in Series C Funding
Aetion, a NYC-based healthcare technology company, raised $110m in Series C funding.
The round was led by Warburg Pincus, with participation from B Capital and Foresite Capital and existing backers New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Flare Capital Partners.
The company will use the new funds to extend the capabilities of its Aetion Evidence Platform®, expand its European and Asian-Pacific presence, and grow its commercial team.
Led by CEO Carolyn Magill, Aetion delivers real-world evidence for the manufacturers, purchasers, and regulators of medical treatments and technologies. The Aetion Evidence Platform® analyzes data from the real world to produce transparent, rapid, and scientifically validated answers on safety, effectiveness, and value. It informs health care’s decisions—what works best, for whom, and when—to guide product development, commercialization, and payment innovation.
Aetion Raises $110M in Series C Funding - FinSMEs
Aetion, a NYC-based healthcare technology company, raised $110m in Series C funding
Interline Therapeutics, a San Francisco, CA-based drug discovery company, raised $92M in funding.
The round was led by Foresite Capital and ARCH Venture Partners.
The company intends to use the funds to expand the research platform and advance six preclinical therapeutic programs.
Co-founded by CEO Zachary Sweeney, Interline Therapeutics is a Foresite Labs incubated company that focuses on systematically elucidating protein communities to define molecular mechanisms of disease.
The company uses genomics, proteomics, structural biology and computational chemistry to systematically map and modulate protein communities. Interline Therapeutics is leveraging recent advancements in these technologies, as well as collaborations with academic groups, to develop a precision medicine platform focused on three essential areas:
Genomics: Prioritize genetic variants that drive disease by altering protein communities Communities: Identify the specific molecular mechanisms through which these variants change protein community dynamics, enabled by the application of machine learning Modulators: Discover and characterize drugs that reshape these communities
Interline Therapeutics Raises $92M in Funding
Interline Therapeutics, a San Francisco, CA-based drug discovery company, raised $92M in funding
Flare Therapeutics Raises $82M in Series A Financing
Flare Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Mass. – based biotechnology company targeting transcription factors to discover precision medicines for cancer and other diseases, raised $82m in Series A financing.
The round was led by Third Rock Ventures with participation from Boxer Capital, Nextech Invest, Casdin Capital, Invus Financial Advisors and Eventide Asset Management.
The company intends to use the funds for further advancement of its lead program in precision oncology toward the clinic proprietary assays to discover small molecules that target transcription factors at switch sites.
Led by Abbie Celniker, PhD, interim chief executive officer, Flare is a biotechnology company with a novel approach to decipher the biology of transcription factors to develop small molecule medicines. Based on insights from the seminal work of its scientific founders, the team has uncovered ‘switch sites,’ druggable regions that are key targets for transcription factor regulation to address mutations that cause disease.
Flare Therapeutics Raises $82M in Series A Financing - FinSMEs
Flare Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Mass. – based biotechnology company targeting transcription factors to discover precision medicines for cancer and other diseases, raised $82m in Series A financing
Interius BioTherapeutics Raises $76M in Series A Financing
Interius BioTherapeutics, a Philadelphia, PA-based preclinical stage gene therapy company developing a paradigm-shifting platform for in vivo cell-specific gene delivery, raised $76m in Series A financing.
The round was co-led by Cormorant Asset Management and Fairmount Funds, and joined by Bain Capital Life Sciences, Pfizer Ventures, RA Capital Management, Longwood Fund, Logos Capital, Osage University Partners and Quan Capital. All existing investors participated, including lead founding investor Tellus BioVentures, the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Medicine, Agent Capital, the Mark Foundation for Cancer Research, Knollwood, and BrightEdge, the American Cancer Society’s impact investment fund. In conjunction with the funding, Tomas Kiselak of Fairmount Funds and Ben Lund of Bain Capital Life Sciences will join the Interius Board of Directors.
The company intends to use the funds to expand its development efforts.
Co-founded by Dr. Saar Gill, physician-scientist at the University of Pennsylvania, and Bruce Peacock, a renowned biotech veteran, and led by Phil Johnson, MD, CEO, Interius is initially focused on treating hematologic malignancies by leveraging its novel gene delivery platform to generate chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells directly in vivo. This therapeutic approach bypasses the need for ex vivo cell manipulations and the potentially toxic pre-conditioning chemotherapy required for standard CAR T-cell treatments. Exploiting its versatile platform, Interius is also developing applications beyond immuno-oncology that address diseases not amenable to current gene therapy modalities.
Interius BioTherapeutics Raises $76M in Series A Financing - FinSMEs
Interius BioTherapeutics, a Philadelphia, PA-based preclinical stage gene therapy company developing a paradigm-shifting platform for in vivo cell-specific gene delivery, raised $76m in Series A financing
DrFirst Raises $50M in Equity Funding
DrFirst, a Rockville, Md.-based health technology company, raised $50m in equity funding.
Sixth Street Growth made the investment. Following Sixth Street’s previous $35m investment and another $50m from Goldman Sachs Growth, both in 2020, DrFirst’s investment total over the past year is now $135m. In conjuntion with the funding, Lee Mooney of Sixth Street has joined DrFirst’s Board of Directors.
The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand operations and its business reach.
Led by James F. Chen, CEO and chairman, DrFirst makes e-prescription and telehealth-related software products for healthcare providers, payers and life science companies including medication management, care collaboration, medication adherence, and price transparency for prescriptions and medical procedures. The company’s solutions are used by nearly 300,000 healthcare professionals, including more than 100,000 prescribers, nearly half of the electronic health record (EHR) systems in the U.S., and more than 1,400 hospitals in the U.S. and Canada.
DrFirst Raises $50M in Equity Funding
DrFirst, a Rockville, Md.-based health technology company, raised $50m in equity funding
Soteria Biotherapeutics Raises $42M in Series A Financing
Soteria Biotherapeutics, Inc., a San Francisco, CA-based immuno-oncology company focused on developing a next generation of switchable bispecific T-cell engagers to treat patients with solid tumor cancers, raised $42m in Series A financing.
The round was led by Roche Venture Fund and 5AM Ventures with participation from other leading investors, including M Ventures, Novartis Venture Fund and Alexandria Venture Investments.
The company intends to use the funds for advancement of its technology and build a pipeline of T-LITE development candidates with potential in well validated cancer targets.
Led by Kristine Ball, chief executive officer, Soteria is developing a next generation of switchable bispecific T-cell engagers to treat cancer patients with solid tumors. The company’s T-LITETM platform provides small molecule-dependent activation of bispecific antibody therapies, enabling treatments through pulsatile activity, reduced side effects and higher dosing.
Soteria Biotherapeutics Raises $42M in Series A Financing
Soteria Biotherapeutics, Inc., a San Francisco, CA-based immuno-oncology company focused on developing a next generation of switchable bispecific T-cell engagers to treat patients with solid tumor cancers, raised $42m in Series A financing
Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Raises $40.75M in Series B Financing
Adaptive Phage Therapeutics (APT), a Gaithersburg, Md.-based clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to providing therapies to treat infectious diseases, closed a $40.75m Series B funding.
The round was led by Deerfield Management Company with participation from existing investor Mayo Clinic and an additional undisclosed institutional investor.
The company intends to use the funds to accelerate clinical development of PhageBank™ phage therapies, as well as for general corporate purposes.
Led by Greg Merril, CEO and Co-Founder, Adaptive Phage Therapeutics is a clinical-stage company advancing therapies to treat multi-drug resistant infections. Originally developed by the biodefense program of U.S. Department of Defense, PhageBank™ technology is a growing collection of hundreds of bacteriophage, collectively providing broad spectrum coverage against six of the highest priority multi-drug resistant bacterial pathogens.
Adaptive Phage Therapeutics Raises $40.75M in Series B Financing
Adaptive Phage Therapeutics (APT), a Gaithersburg, Md.-based clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to providing therapies to treat infectious diseases, closed a $40.75m Series B funding
Mindera Raises Over $12M in Series A-2 Funding
Mindera Corporation, a San Diego, CA-based company developing and commercializing next-generation medical technology, raised $12.6M in Series A-2 funding.
The round was led by Mountain Group Partners, Rockmont Investments, and Scientific Health Development.
Mindera is a company developing and commercializing medical technology to enable skin analytics at the molecular level. Using a proprietary dermal biomarker patch, Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) and Machine Learning, the technology generates clinically validated data to reduce healthcare system costs and improve patient outcomes.
The company intends to use the funds to commercialize Mind.Px, a tool to prospectively predict patient response to expensive psoriasis biologics, as well as continue development of the Mindera Dermal Intelligence™ Platform.
