A daily newsletter summarizing recent activity & interesting startups globally
RECENT NOTABLE ACTIVITY – HEALTHCARE IT
- Agilent acquires Belgian molecular diagnostics player Multiplicom for $70.6M in cash.Link
- Menarini Silicon Biosystems acquires Cellsearch CTC System, used for the detection of circulating tumor cells, from Janssen Diagnostics. Link
- Foundation Medicine’s FoundationFocus™ CDxBRCA receives FDA approval as the first NGS-based CDx assay for ovarian cancer drug Rubraca. Link
- Roche to exit $75M diagnostics development deal with Pacific Biosciences. Link
- Grifols acquires Hologic’s blood screening business unit for $1.85B. Link
- Siemens to pump $300M into MA lab diagnostics plant. Link
- NIH sets up $170M consortium to investigate molecular effects of exercise and other physical activity. Link
- Genome Canada, along with other public and private Canadian players, commit $97M to furthur genomic research. Link
- ClearLight Diagnostics receives $3.5M in Series B funding to develop technology platform based on its Clarity lipid-clearing technique. Link
- Metabolon raises additional $15M in funding from Essex Woodlands to develop personalized medicine products using its metabolomics platform. Link
SOME INTERESTING STARTUPS FOUND
Cambridge Cancer Genomics (2016, Cambridge (UK)) – Developing microarray-based technology for the rapid detection of circulating cell-free DNA in a patients blood.
LEADER BOARD – HEALTHCARE IT
Oncology
Foundation Medicine (2010, Cambridge, $89.5M, 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 pla
NantHealth (2007, Culver City, IPO) – 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.
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, $72M) – 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.
Atlas Genetics (2005, Bristol UK, $76M) – Develops the microfluidic-based multiplex point-of-care system 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, $55M) – 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
Assurex Health (2006, Mason, $92M, Acq.) – Develops pharmacogenomics platforms for neuropsychiatric disorders. Backed by Mayo Clinic, Claremont Creek, Allos Ventures, Sequoia, GE Capital, jVen Capital.
Avid Radiopharmaceuticals (2005, Philadelphia, $70M, 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.
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.
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.
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