Participated · Equity · Jan 2025

Leyden Labs is developing a Mucosal Protection Platform that administers broadly protective antibodies directly to the respiratory mucosa via intranasal sprays. The company targets protection against influenza, coronaviruses and other respiratory virus families with candidates designed to retain activity even as viruses mutate. Leyden Labs positions mucosal delivery as protection “at the gate,” aiming to prevent initial infection and subsequent illness where systemic vaccines or antibodies may be less effective. The approach is also presented as potentially beneficial for people with weakened immune systems because it does not rely on a fully functional systemic immune response. Leyden Labs is advancing its programs through clinical development and is focused on enabling global access to its products. The company recently added Ben Verwaayen to its Supervisory Board as it scales development and access efforts.

Participated · Series B · Jul 2024

Foresight Diagnostics develops the Foresight CLARITY™ liquid biopsy MRD testing platform, an ultrasensitive assay based on PhasED‑Seq that reports detection limits in parts per million. The platform lowers sequencing error by requiring concordant detection of multiple non‑reference events in a single DNA molecule to distinguish tumor ctDNA from healthy cfDNA. Foresight operates a CLIA‑registered laboratory and has invested in automation and a new laboratory in Boulder to scale operations. The company is advancing evidence generation in lymphoma and solid tumors and has initiated the prospective Phase 2 ALPHA3 trial in partnership with Allogene Therapeutics using its CLARITY IUO test. PhasED‑Seq recently received an IDE approval from the U.S. FDA for investigational use in that study. To date, Foresight has raised $86 million in venture financing. Foresight Diagnostics develops a liquid biopsy testing platform, PhasED-Seq, for measurement of minimal residual disease to inform treatment decisions for solid tumors and hematologic malignancies. The company operates a CLIA-registered laboratory and positions its tests to provide actionable information to physicians and biopharmaceutical companies to enable more personalized treatment approaches. Led by CEO Jake Chabon, Foresight intends to use the new funding to accelerate clinical development and commercialization of its cancer recurrence testing platform, PhasED-Seq. The company raised $58.75M in a Series B financing to support those efforts. Uplaksh Kumar, Ph.D., will join the company's board of directors as part of the financing. The company is based in Aurora, CO.

Participated · Series E · Feb 2024

Procyrion is a Houston, TX-based medical device company developing the Aortix percutaneous mechanical circulatory support (pMCS) device, a catheter-deployed pump that harnesses fluid entrainment to move blood. Led by CEO Eric S. Fain, the company targets treatment options for patients with cardiac and renal impairment, including acute decompensated heart failure and cardiorenal syndrome. Aortix is limited by Federal law to investigational use only and is not approved for sale in any geography. The company plans to use the new financing to support the ongoing DRAIN-HF pivotal IDE trial evaluating Aortix in ADHF patients who remain congested despite standard medical therapy. Additional proceeds will fund internal programs to improve product manufacturability and to prepare for commercialization. Procyrion is developing Aortix, a catheter-deployed, intra-aortic percutaneous blood pump designed to reduce cardiac afterload while increasing renal blood flow for cardiorenal syndrome patients. The device is placed in the descending thoracic aorta and uses fluid entrainment to increase aortic velocity and flow without a valve. Procyrion plans to use the new funding to complete a pilot study and to support activities required for an FDA IDE submission for a pivotal trial. The company is clinical-stage and its Aortix device is not approved for use or sale. Procyrion is Houston-based and conceived at the Texas Heart Institute and Fannin Innovation Studio. To date the company has raised more than $59 million in funding. Procyrion is developing Aortix, described as the first catheter-deployed, intra-aortic pump designed for ambulatory use to unload the heart and improve renal perfusion. The device is thinner than a pencil and intended to be placed in a simple cath-lab procedure to help patients too sick for medication alone but not candidates for transplant or LVAD. Procyrion plans to advance Aortix into pilot trials in Acutely Decompensated Heart Failure patients and to further enhance the system's features and performance. The company is clinical-stage and Aortix is not approved for use or sale. Benjamin Hertzog, Ph.D., is named as Procyrion’s chief executive officer in the announcement. The device concept is credited to cardiologist Dr. Reynolds M. Delgado, III. Procyrion is described in the article as a Houston heart-failure biotech. The coverage notes the company has raised $10 million. The article does not provide details on Procyrion’s specific product(s) or pipeline. It does not disclose operating metrics such as revenue or user counts. The article also does not specify the investors or the instrument(s) used in the raise. No information on use of proceeds, prior financings, or founding year is provided in the article.

Participated · Series C · May 2022

Kriya Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing gene therapies across multiple therapeutic areas. Its pipeline includes programs in ophthalmology, metabolic disease and neurology built on a fully integrated proprietary manufacturing and engineering platform. The company intends to use new funding to support clinical trials of its gene therapies and to continue leveraging its research and manufacturing engine for new product development. Kriya operates from Research Triangle Park, NC. The company closed a major Series D financing to advance its clinical programs and platform utilization. Kriya Therapeutics develops gene therapies focused on prevalent diseases in ophthalmology, neurology, and metabolic disease. The company has built integrated engineering, computational, and manufacturing platforms to accelerate research, development and production of gene therapies. Proceeds from the recent financing will support clinical translation of its pipeline and further scaling of those platforms. Kriya emphasizes targeting validated biological targets and well-defined clinical endpoints to rapidly achieve proof-of-concept. Since its founding in October 2019, the company has raised over $600 million in committed capital and says its investments in infrastructure and talent have improved development efficiency. Kriya intends to translate multiple programs into the clinic in the coming years. Kriya Therapeutics is a fully integrated gene therapy company that combines proprietary computational tools, in-house GMP manufacturing, and a rational design toolkit to develop gene therapies. The company has scaled SIRVE™, a machine learning–enabled technology and cloud computing architecture, to integrate large datasets from high-throughput screening and sequencing. Kriya has expanded its pipeline via internal R&D, acquisitions, and partnerships, with therapeutic divisions in ophthalmology, oncology, rare disease, and chronic disease. It operationalized scalable GMP manufacturing infrastructure in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina to support in-house production from early through late-phase development. The company’s stated mission is to improve speed to market and reduce cost for gene therapies by advancing engineering, production, and translation capabilities. Proceeds from the recent financing will support advancing the pipeline and continued scaling of its engineering, manufacturing, and computational platforms. Kriya Therapeutics is a fully integrated platform company focused on designing, developing and manufacturing gene therapies. The company combines computational vector design (SIRVE™) and a proprietary high-efficiency manufacturing platform (STRIPE™) to reduce immunogenicity, improve expression and achieve lower production costs at scale. STRIPE is being developed at a 51,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Research Triangle Park, N.C., and Kriya expects its full cGMP manufacturing infrastructure to be online this year. Kriya is advancing an internal pipeline with programs in metabolic disease, ophthalmology and oncology. Proceeds from the recent financing will be used to further develop Kriya’s core technology platforms, expand its therapeutic pipeline and advance current programs. The company maintains locations in Silicon Valley/Redwood City, Calif., and Research Triangle Park, N.C., and is led by co-founder and CEO Shankar Ramaswamy, M.D. Kriya Therapeutics is a Palo Alto, Calif. and Durham, N.C.-based gene therapy company focused on expanding gene therapy beyond rare monogenic disorders to diseases that affect millions. Its pipeline centers on multiple AAV-based investigational therapies targeting metabolic diseases, including type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and severe obesity. Lead programs are KT-A112 (intramuscular delivery of genes producing insulin and glucokinase), KT-A522 (salivary gland delivery of a GLP-1 receptor agonist), and KT-A832 (intrapancreatic delivery of modified IGF-1). The company intends to use proceeds from its financing to develop these gene therapies. Kriya completed a seed round in Q4 2019 led by Transhuman Capital, which also participated in the Series A. The company is led by co-founder, chairman and CEO Shankar Ramaswamy, M.D., supported by a team of scientific, development, manufacturing, and regulatory executives.

Participated · Series B · Sep 2020

Nutcracker Therapeutics is an RNA therapeutics company developing mRNA medicines alongside a proprietary biochip-based manufacturing platform. The platform combines RNA biochemistry with microfluidic engineering, semiconductor-like biochips, and a proprietary nanoparticle delivery technology to enable a fully automated, isolated "GMP-in-a-box" manufacturing pathway. It is designed to support therapeutic development from discovery through clinic and commercialization, scaling appropriately at each stage. The company has a wholly owned pipeline of RNA therapeutic programs and established partnership initiatives with clinical investigators at several leading institutions. Nutcracker plans to expand and advance its pipeline of mRNA medicines for cancer and further refine its RNA manufacturing platform and underlying technology. The company announced a $167 million Series C to support these efforts. Nutcracker Therapeutics develops and produces mRNA therapeutics on a proprietary microfluidic, biochip-based platform called ACORN. The ACORN platform is a computer-controlled RNA manufacturing system that starts with a nucleic acid sequence and produces optimized nanoparticle-encapsulated RNA therapeutics on dedicated, single-use biochips. The company combines the productivity of RNA biology with innovations inspired by semiconductor manufacturing techniques to enable rapid discovery, development and manufacturing of mRNA therapies and vaccines. Nutcracker is led by co-founder and CEO Igor Khandros, Ph.D., who previously founded FormFactor and Berkeley Lights. The company is based in Emeryville, California. It raised $60M in a Series B to continue to expand its development efforts.