Participated · Series B · Sep 2023

Deka Biosciences, based in Germantown, MD and led by CEO Dr. John Mumm, develops disease-specific Diakines designed to target the accumulation of dual and complementary cytokines into affected tissues to improve pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. The company recently received an FDA notice to proceed for its IND to evaluate DK210 (EGFR) and is continuing clinical trials. It closed a $20M Series B2 financing to support advancement of its pipeline and drug product manufacturing. Management says the funds will be used to advance clinical programs and scale drug product manufacturing. Detlev Biniszkiewicz, Ph.D. of MPM BioImpact will join Deka’s board as part of the raise. Deka Biosciences is an early-stage biotech developing novel cytokine therapies (Diakines™) to treat cancer and inflammatory diseases such as Crohn’s, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and sepsis. Its Diakines™ are disease-specific therapeutic proteins designed to maximize patient benefit through improved pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics via targeted delivery of dual and complementary cytokines to affected tissues or cells. The company applies precision medicine to ensure treatment of patients most likely to benefit from and respond to cytokine therapies. Deka intends to use the newly raised funds to advance research, expand talent acquisition, and further develop its platform. Specifically, the company plans to file an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its lead oncology program and advance the lead compound into Phase I clinical trials. Deka raised $20M in a Series A from strategic and venture investors to support these initiatives.

Participated · Series C · Jan 2023

Amolyt Pharma (referred to in the article as Alize Pharma) focuses on creating innovative peptide and protein drugs targeting metabolic disorders and oncology indications. Its lead asset, AZP-531, is an eight-amino-acid unacylated ghrelin analog being advanced for Type II diabetes and Prader-Willi syndrome; the company expects to start Phase I trials in healthy volunteers in 2013, followed by Phase Ib/II studies in patients. A second program, ASPAREC, is a PEGylated recombinant L-asparaginase for acute lymphoblastic leukemia that is already in Phase I and partnered with EUSA Pharma. The firm controls five patent families covering 34 patents and applications around UAG, its analogs, and related uses. Founded in 2007, the company pursues a strategy of bringing assets to early clinical proof-of-concept before licensing to larger pharmaceutical partners. Including the current round, Amolyt/Alize has raised a total of €8.3 million from private and institutional backers to fund its R&D milestones and clinical progression.

Participated · Series A · Sep 2022

Arpeggio Biosciences develops a proprietary platform that reads nascent RNA to monitor transcription and screens drug libraries for effects on thousands of gene and non-coding transcripts. Its assay combined with machine-learning algorithms can monitor activity of more than 100,000 transcripts and reconstruct biological networks to match molecules to diseases. The company has built what it describes as the largest database of nascent-RNA sequences and focuses on discovering modulators of high-value targets considered "undruggable," such as transcription factors. Arpeggio's platform supports screening of small molecules, biologics, and antisense oligonucleotides and is designed to enable modulation of an entire cellular transcriptome rather than single targets. The company is preclinical and plans to use the Series A financing to continue development of its drug pipeline and transcription-monitoring technologies. Arpeggio Bio has developed an automated platform that collects high‑resolution time‑series RNA profiles and applies proprietary machine learning to reconstruct the biological networks a drug affects. The company combines a proprietary biological assay with algorithms (originally developed for financial forecasting) to identify genes critical for drug success or failure. Arpeggio says its data elucidates drug and disease mechanisms to support development of safer, more effective therapies. Since its 2018 inception the company has partnered with over twenty biotech and pharmaceutical companies, including four of the world’s top ten. Funding announced will support ongoing development of a nascent RNA drug screen. The company’s founder and CEO, Joey Azofeifa, was named to the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 List in Healthcare.

Participated · Series B · Mar 2021

Iridia, headquartered in Carlsbad, CA, is developing integrated DNA-based data storage that combines proprietary enzymology and semiconductor technology to write, store, and read information in synthetic DNA. Its core approach uses enzyme-based chemistry and programmable semiconductor systems to add DNA-based bits, aiming for orders-of-magnitude higher density and durability than conventional archival technologies. The company positions its solution as more energy-efficient, cost-competitive, and secure, with a much smaller physical and carbon footprint than current data-center storage. Iridia is working toward commercially viable, decodable DNA storage by developing working prototypes that can manipulate single DNA molecules and read them back using the same device. Current plans funded by new financing include further validation of the technology, prototype development, and doubling headcount and physical footprint to accelerate growth. Iridia develops an integrated DNA-based memory chip that combines semiconductor technology with proprietary enzyme-based chemistry to write, store, and read digital data using synthetic DNA as the storage medium. The company’s chip-level approach aims to increase data density and durability while dramatically reducing the physical and carbon footprints of commercial data centers. Iridia says its technology can encode and read DNA on-chip, eliminating the need for complex storage infrastructure and laboratory sequencing. Management projects a dramatic cost reduction in encoding and retrieving 1 TB of DNA-stored data from more than $1 million today to less than $1. The recent financing is intended to accelerate development of the world’s first commercially viable DNA memory chips and to demonstrate scalability. Iridia is headquartered in Carlsbad, California.