Participated · Equity · Jan 2022

Lumavate offers a no-code mobile app building platform—comprised of the Command Center, Studio, and Lumavate Library—that lets business users design, build, test, and publish mobile apps without development resources. The company plans to use the new funding to scale its go-to-market team and continue platform innovation. Lumavate positions the platform to provide enterprise-grade scale, security, and oversight while supporting a variety of use cases from marketing campaigns to employee communications. The company reported a 216% increase in the number of apps built on its platform in 2021 and a 173% increase in items in the Lumavate Library. Lumavate emphasizes collaboration between business users and IT through centralized management and Starter Kits and integrations to accelerate app delivery. Lumavate provides a cloud-based platform for building, testing, and delivering progressive web apps (PWAs), giving marketers a library-driven builder and developers the ability to add custom widgets, microservices, and components. Recent product enhancements include Starter Kits for common use cases, an expanded Lumavate Library, Command Center version management, and multi-device previewing in Lumavate Studio. The platform emphasizes IT control over app architecture while empowering business users to build and modify apps. The company cites enterprise customers such as Roche, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Trinchero Wines, Toyota Industrial Equipment, RhinoAg, Coca-Cola, and Delta Faucets. Lumavate announced it raised more than $3 million in funding from BioCrossroads, Elevate Ventures, Collina Ventures, and 4G Ventures. The company says the funding will be used to expand its product offering and grow its product, sales, and marketing teams. Lumavate provides an enterprise platform for developing progressive web apps (PWAs) at scale, enabling marketers to design and deploy highly-personalized mobile experiences using reusable widgets or custom widgets from IT. The platform positions PWAs as a lower-cost, faster alternative to native mobile apps and emphasizes cross-browser availability backed by major tech players. Lumavate says its solution increases adoption and long-term engagement through smart activation methods and serves a growing roster of enterprise clients, including a Fortune 100 company. The company plans to use new funding to grow its product, sales, and marketing teams and to further develop its offering to meet industry needs. Lumavate also recently launched a Partner Program to support marketing agencies, consulting and system integrators, activation companies, and technology partners. Lumavate provides an intelligent SaaS platform that connects products and end-users at key moments in a product’s lifecycle. The platform combines the simplicity of smart packaging with IoT capabilities to create a captive channel companies own and control. Lumavate positions this channel to help manufacturers monetize IoT strategies, capture aftermarket revenue, and reduce operating and support costs. The company said it will use the new funding to scale sales and marketing and to accelerate product development around customer-experience solutions related to the Internet of Things. John True, a technology veteran with senior executive experience at PTC, Ariba, Equallogic and Guidewire, joined Lumavate’s Board of Managers. CEO Paul McGrath said the company is seeing market momentum and expects the funding and board additions to help scale the business.

Participated · Series A · Mar 2021

Novosteo develops and delivers new drugs for the treatment of bone fractures, bone metastasis and infection to reduce morbidity, mortality and loss of mobility and productivity. Its lead candidate, NOV004, has shown promise in live animal studies by accelerating fracture healing when delivered systemically. NOV004 reportedly concentrates at the fracture site while avoiding accumulation in the rest of the body. The company plans to advance NOV004 into clinical development beginning in the first half of 2021. Novosteo was co-founded by Stewart Low and Philip Low of Purdue University. The company is based in Austin, Texas. Novosteo is a Purdue University spin-out developing a novel injectable-targeted drug that concentrates at fracture sites after systemic administration to accelerate and improve bone healing. The company has completed preclinical studies showing the targeted drug heals bone fractures faster and better than the same untargeted drug. Those research findings were published in a June 2018 Department of Defense Spotlight article authored by the company’s co‑founders. Novosteo is co‑founded by Philip S. Low and Stewart A. Low. The recent investment is intended to help build out business infrastructure to compete for talent and capital in global markets. No operating metrics (revenue/users) are disclosed in the article.

Participated · Series A · Jul 2020

MBX Biosciences develops precision-engineered peptide therapies via its proprietary Precision Endocrine Peptide™ (PEP™) platform designed to extend time-action profiles, provide consistent tissue exposure, and enable less frequent dosing. Its lead candidate, MBX 2109, is a parathyroid hormone peptide prodrug currently in a Phase 2 trial for chronic hypoparathyroidism, with topline results expected in the third quarter of 2025. MBX 1416, aimed at post-bariatric hypoglycemia, is in a Phase 1 single- and multiple-ascending dose trial with topline data expected in the fourth quarter of 2024. The company also advances an obesity portfolio including MBX 4291, a long-acting GLP-1/GIP receptor co-agonist prodrug in IND-enabling studies, plus multiple discovery and preclinical candidates. MBX says proceeds from its recent financing will support operations into 2026 and fund progression of its clinical and early-stage programs. The company is based in Carmel, Indiana. MBX Biosciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering Precision Endocrine Peptide (PEP) therapeutic candidates for endocrine disorders. Its lead candidate, MBX 2109, is a long-acting parathyroid hormone peptide prodrug designed for once-weekly dosing and is in a Phase 1 trial for hypoparathyroidism; MBX 2109 received FDA Orphan Drug designation in July 2022. Proceeds from the financing will support continued clinical advancement of MBX 2109, the preclinical program MBX 1416, and discovery programs in endocrine diseases. The company positions its PEP platform to overcome limitations of traditional peptide therapeutics by delivering sustained activity and improved pharmaceutical properties. MBX says its goal is to simplify disease management and improve outcomes and quality of life for patients with endocrine disorders. MBX is based in Carmel, Indiana. MBX Biosciences is a biotechnology company creating therapies for rare endocrine diseases with a focus on peptide therapeutics. The company advances a preclinical pipeline of peptide candidates directed at clinically validated molecular targets. MBX's platform and drug candidates are built on medicinal expertise and chemical technologies invented at the Indiana University laboratory of Professor Richard DiMarchi, who is co-founder and chief scientific officer. The company intends to advance its candidates toward clinical investigation to address endocrine disorders with substantial unmet medical need. MBX's leadership team, including president and CEO Kent Hawryluk, previously collaborated on successful endocrine drugs such as Humalog and Forteo. The company is based in Carmel, Indiana and is supported by leading life-science investors including Frazier Healthcare Partners, OrbiMed, and New Enterprise Associates. MBX Biosciences develops therapeutics aimed at rare endocrine disorders that the company says represent substantial unmet medical need. The company is pursuing initial discovery research to identify drug candidates with potential life‑saving properties against these disorders. MBX was founded by Indiana University Bloomington Distinguished Professor Richard DiMarchi, IUPUI alumnus Kent Hawryluk, and Tim Knickerbocker, and maintains several ties with Indiana University. The startup has an agreement to support research at the DiMarchi Laboratory in Bloomington and is a sponsor of IU‑based research. MBX completed an initial $2.5 million financing to fund its early discovery work. The leadership team has prior experience pairing on Marcadia Biotech and MB2, both acquired by large pharma, which the company cites as part of its institutional expertise.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2019

Sexton Biotechnologies is a revenue-stage biotechnology company focused on developing and selling bioproduction tools for cell and gene therapy. Its product portfolio includes the CellSeal platform of cryo-compatible containers and fill/finish systems and hPL supplements including Stemulate, n-Liven PR, and the T-Liven PRTM T-cell activity verified product. Sexton plans to expand and scale commercialization of these products and continue building its platform to enable flexible integration into cell and gene therapy manufacturing to accelerate process development. The company was spun out of Cook Regentec in 2019 and comprises a 17-person team that developed and commercialized the products since 2015. Sexton will lease production and office space inside Cook Regentec’s facility through 2024 and was scheduled to become fully independent after a closing on October 1, 2019. The company intends to leverage investor partnerships to expand its customer base and sales and marketing reach while further developing its offerings.

Participated · Series A · May 2018

Scioto Biosciences develops live bacterial therapeutics built on its proprietary ABT (Activated Bacterial Therapeutics) platform, which it holds under an exclusive global license from researchers at the Abigail Wexner Research Institute. The company’s lead drug candidate, SB-121, targets disorders related to the gut–brain axis such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and gut-injury conditions like Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC). The announced funding will support continued clinical development of SB-121. Scioto was founded in 2017 as a partnership between Monon Bioventures and AWRI and is headquartered in Indianapolis, IN. The company is described in the release as focused on transforming delivery of live bacterial therapeutics across indications including gastrointestinal health, neurological disorders, diabetes, and alternatives to in‑feed antibiotics. Scioto will cooperate multilaterally with its new investor on research of new drug candidates and to expand access to Asian markets and regulatory engagement. Scioto Biosciences is a preclinical-stage company developing a platform to transform delivery of microbiome therapeutics. The company’s core product is a microbiome platform licensed from Nationwide Children’s Hospital at its founding in May 2017, intended to enhance efficacy of probiotics and enable preventive and therapeutic applications across human and animal health. Scioto positions the platform to address conditions including necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in premature infants and other gastrointestinal, metabolic, neurological and in‑feed antibiotic alternative uses in livestock. The recently closed financing and grants will support the launch and further preclinical development of the platform. Scioto cites a strong IP portfolio, an executive and scientific team, and research relationships with the Research Institute of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital. Financially, the company closed a $1.8M Series A and previously received a $330,000 Small Business Technology Transfer grant from the NIH plus a $50,000 match from the State of Indiana. The company is based in Indianapolis, Indiana.