A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting startups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – DIAGNOSTICS
- Singulex, specialist in molecular diagnostics platforms, nabs $50M from Grifols to expand product offerings. Link
- Strata Oncology, which aims to sequence patient tumors and match them with clinical trials,raises $12M Series A from Arboretum Ventures and Baird Capital; signs ThermoFisher as sequencing partner . Link
- Pillar Biosciences, an oncology diagnostics firm that uses next generation sequencing, raises $18M from ORI Capital. Link
- Taiwanese ACT Genomics raises $12.5M Series B to expand genomics diagnostic test offerings in Asia. Link
- Myriad acquires Sividon Diagnostics, a predictive breast cancer Dx startup, for $39.1M upfront, with an additional $16.8M in milestone payments. Link
- Sinocare acquires US-based PTS Diagnostics for $290M. Link
- Siemens acquires Neo New Oncology, a German liquid biopsy startup. Link
- Foundation Medicine sues Guardant Health over liquid biopsy patents. . Link
- NIH funds Mayo Clinic Biobank with $142M as a part of the PMI, to conduct chemical and genetic testing on 100 million individuals. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Beamline Diagnostics (2015, London, $240K) – Point-of-care pre-screening technology for tumor biopsies using attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR). Backed by Deepbridge Capital.
LEADER BOARD – DIAGNOSTICS
Oncology
Foundation Medicine (2010, Cambridge, $139M, Acq.) – Develops clinical assays for comprehensive genetic profiling for solid tumors and hematological malignancies to tailor personalized treatment regimens for patients. Backed by Google Ventures, KPCB, Third Rock Ventures; Roche owns a majority stake.
Biocartis (2007, Lausanne, IPO) – Develops in vitro molecular diagnostic platforms for multiplexed detection of bio-analytes in tissue samples. Backed by Debiopharm, J&J Development Corporation, Philips, The Wellcome Trust. Went public in 2015.
NantHealth (2007, Culver City, $890M) – Combines molecular medicine and bioinformatics with technology services to enable personalized therapies for cancer and other diseases. Part of billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong’s NantWorks system. Backed by the Kuwait government, Blackberry, Celgene, AllScripts.
Adaptive Biotechnologies (2008, Seattle, $410M) – Develops high-throughput immunosequencing technologies, first application being for diagnosis of minimal residual disease in blood cancers. Backed by Viking Global, Illumina, Celgene, Lab Corp, Rock Spring Capital.
Guardant Health (2012, Redwood City, $190M) – Develops biopsy-free cancer detection and treatments using digital sequencing technology. Backed by Sequoia, Khosla Ventures, Orbimed, Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Cardiovascular Disease
Acutus Medical (2011, San Diego, $157M) – Develops medical imaging technologies for the electrophysiological market; first product gives an ultrasound-based reconstruction of the heart to diagnose arrhythmias. Backed by Advent Life Sciences, Orbimed, GE Ventures, Xeraya, Deerfield Capital.
Immune Disease
Exagen Diagnostics (2002, Vista, $76M) – Rheumatology specialty company that focuses on the diagnosis and prognosis of autoimmune connective tissue diseases. Backed by Epic venture capital, vSpring Capital, Sun Mountain Capital.
Infectious disease
Oxford Immunotec (2002, Abingdon, IPO) – Proprietary T-SPOT platform that measures immune cell responses at a single cell level to detect infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and CMV even at low pathogen loads. Backed by Dow, Clarus Ventures, New Leaf Venture Partners, Spark Ventures. Went public in 2013.
Accelerate Dx (2004, Tuscon, IPO) – In vitro diagnostics for the diagnosis of drug resistant microbes and hospital acquired infections. Went public in 2013.
Atlas Genetics (2005, Bristol UK, $76M) – Develops the microfluidic-based multiplex point-of-caresystem io™ to detect bacterial STDs and hospital acquired infections. Backed by J&J Development Corporation, Novartis, BB Biotech, Consort Medical, Life Science Venture Partners.
Reproductive Health
Natera (2004, Redwood City, IPO) – Specializes in pre-implantation genetic testing, conception testing and non-invasive prenatal diagnostics. Backed by Claremont Creek Ventures, Sequoia, Orbimed Advisors, Sofinnova Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners. Went public in 2015.
Sera Prognostics (2008, Salt Lake City, $50M) – Develops a proteomics tests for assessing risk of pre-term birth in expectant mothers. Backed by Domain Associates, Catalyst Health Ventures, Interwest and Upstart Capital.
CNS
Avid Radiopharmaceuticals (2005, Philadelphia, Acq.) – Specializes in molecular imaging agents for diagnosis of chronic diseases. Backed by Bioadvance, RK Ventures, Lilly Ventures, Safeguard Scientific, Pfizer. Acquired by Eli Lilly in 2010 for $800M.
Platform
SuperSonic Imagine (2005, Aix-en-Provence, IPO) – Develops ultrasound imaging platforms, with applications in women health, vascular, hepatology, gastroenterology and general imaging. Backed by NBGI Private Equity, Rothschild, Auriga Partners, Omnes Capital, Alto Invest. Went public in 2014.
Singulex (2003, Alamedia, $87M) – Specializes in single molecule counting technology and biomarker research for diagnostics. Backed by GE Capital, Advantage Capital, Prolog Ventures, Orbimed, Jafco.
Personalis (2011, Menlo Park, $75M) – Use proprietary databases, human reference sequences, and sophisticated algorithms to analyze genome scale information for clinical diagnostics. Backed by Mohr Davidow Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Abingworth.
Suite
23andMe (2006, Mountain View, $232M) – Provides direct-to-consumer service of gene indexing w.r.t. ancestry, genealogy, and inherited traits. Backed by J&J Development Corporation, NEA, Google Ventures, Illumina, Fidelity Investments, Mohr Davidow, MPM Capital.
SomaLogic (1999, Boulder, $169M) – Develops proteomics tools with applications in clinical diagnostics and life science research. Backed by Novartis, Gates Foundation, Visium Healthcare.
Assurex Health (2006, Mason, $92M) – Develops pharmacogenomics platforms for neuropsychiatric disorders. Backed by Mayo Clinic, Claremont Creek, Allos Ventures, Sequoia, GE Capital, jVen Capital.
Pathway Genomics (2008, San Diego, $70M) – Develops genetic tests for cancer risk and drug responses. Backed by KCP Capital, Edelson Tech, Founders Fund, IBM.
Leaderboard includes all the top funded, IPO and successfully running bootstrapped companies along with their location, founding year and funding amount.
For latest updates, visit the Diagnostics and Biotech feed.