• Spiderwort

  Participated · Series A · Jul 2022

  Spiderwort is an Ottawa-based biotech company developing plant-derived, cellulose-based tissue scaffolding to treat acute spinal cord injuries. Its proprietary biomaterials received a Breakthrough Device Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The company is developing two core products: CelluBridge, a cellulose-based biomaterial to promote spinal cord repair and regeneration; and CelluJuve, a cellulose-based dermal filler for injury recovery and cosmetic enhancement. Spiderwort plans to use the proceeds from its Series A to support the transition from pre-clinical studies to clinical trials for its biomaterial. The company is led by CEO Charles M. Cuerrier and CSO Dr. Andrew E. Pelling. It raised USD13.2M in Series A funding to advance those development and regulatory efforts. Spiderwort is an Ottawa-based healthtech and biomaterials startup developing plant-derived cellulose biomaterials that form scaffold architectures for regenerative medicine. Its lead product is in the pre-clinical stage and has shown potential in treating spinal cord injuries and soft tissue regeneration in pre-clinical trials. The company was spun out of the University of Ottawa and is led by CEO Charles Cuerrier, inspired by the work of TED Fellow Andrew Pelling. Spiderwort recently moved into a new facility in the University of Ottawa STEM building and is participating in the Creative Destruction Lab Health stream in Vancouver. Financially, the company closed an oversubscribed $500,000 CAD friends-and-family round and has previously received funding from the Ontario Brain Institute, the Ontario Centres of Excellence, and Invest Ottawa. It added new advisory board members including Dane Bedward and Peter Morand. Spiderwort plans to raise a Seed round, conduct further pre-clinical testing, and pursue regulatory approvals to move toward commercialization.

• Made of Genes

  Participated · Equity · Jul 2020

  Made of Genes uses artificial intelligence, data science and systems biology to integrate biomarkers such as blood tests and DNA to deliver personalized health and wellbeing recommendations. The company originated as a spin-off of Genomcore and is staffed by around thirty healthcare professionals, biologists and engineers. It is expanding its Made of Genes ONE study to combine blood and DNA analyses with external athlete data — body parameters and biosensor metrics like sleep quality, muscle loads and injury records — for services to FC Barcelona. Made of Genes and Barça Innovation Hub plan to co-create pioneering AI algorithms for high‑performance athletes that explicitly incorporate a gender perspective to address the needs of female athletes. The platform aims to optimize performance, personalize training and recovery, predict injury risk and complement teams' guidance on nutrition and emotional wellbeing. Financially, the company announced investment from Barça Innovation Hub and recently closed a €2.4M funding round led by FCV Equity with participation from Scale Lab Andorra, Break Off Capital and Capital Cell. Made of Genes (the personalized-health brand of Genomcore S.L.) offers integrated health studies that combine genetic, serological (including IgG antibody tests) and biochemical/metabolic markers to deliver a comprehensive view of an individual’s health. The company has positioned its services to go beyond static genetic reports by adding a dynamic assessment of current health status and comorbidity risk, including a COVID-19–focused product called #REACTIVATE. #REACTIVATE is marketed as an affordable test (under €100) that identifies past infection, antibody response, and risk of severe respiratory complications. The newly closed financing will be used to scale the company’s VITAL and HEALTH service lines and to improve go-to-market execution. Made of Genes highlights data custody and reuse practices (including Blockchain-based privacy and consent management) as part of its innovation profile. The company was founded in January 2015 and has received recognition such as MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 and other international awards. Made of Genes operates a marketplace that sequences clients' genes, digitizes their genomes and hosts them in the cloud so customers can grant access to partnered healthcare professionals. The service monetizes via commissions when a client pays a professional to analyze their genome. The company was founded by Dr. Óscar Flores and consultant Miquel Bru and has secured commitments from 10 healthcare companies and integration with 150 disease‑detection apps. Made of Genes plans to generate €50,000 in revenue in its first year and expected to grow to 20 employees by 2017. The startup is based in Barcelona.

• Finless Foods

  Participated · Seed · Jun 2018

  Finless Foods develops cell-cultured and plant-based seafood alternatives with an initial focus on bluefin tuna. The company is constructing a Bay Area pilot facility to produce its first saleable cell-cultured bluefin tuna and is pursuing regulatory approval to enable sales and consumption. It plans to nationally launch its plant-based tuna into U.S. foodservice in 2022 and to explore international distribution in Asia while expanding its plant-based seafood portfolio. The company will use new funding to expand its team, deepen technical R&D, and build business capabilities to transition from R&D to a food company. Finless also aims to drive down the price of cell-cultured bluefin tuna to reach parity with conventional tuna and to reduce pressure on wild-capture tuna stocks. The company convenes an Impact Board of ocean and sustainable seafood experts and was the first to serve cell-cultured fish in the United States. Finless Foods, founded in 2017 by biochemists Michael Selden and Bryan Wyrwas, develops real fish meat grown from stem cells. The company uses cellular-agriculture technologies to grow marine-animal cells and is initially producing bluefin tuna. It aims to create more sustainable seafood without the environmental devastation or health hazards of traditional fishing and aquatic farming. Based in San Francisco, CA, Finless Foods raised $3.5M in seed funding. The company intends to use the funds to finalize its initial R&D phase and move into production, pending the closing of a Series A.

No current team members are available.