The Venture Codex

Participated · Series B · Apr 2019

Vividion Therapeutics is a biotechnology company that uses integrated discovery technologies to enable precision small‑molecule therapeutics for oncology and immunology. Its platform finds cryptic functional pockets, uses a proteome‑trained covalent chemistry library, and applies industrial‑scale chemoproteomics to ensure selectivity. Leveraging these capabilities, Vividion is advancing a broad pipeline of potent, selective small molecules across oncology and immune indications. The company’s initial wholly owned programs target the KEAP1‑NRF2 axis (both antagonists for NRF2 mutant/addicted cancers and agonists for inflammatory diseases) and, in partnership with Bristol Myers Squibb, a program against a challenging transcription factor. Vividion says it intends to begin advancing programs into the clinic next year. The company is headquartered in San Diego. Vividion Therapeutics is a San Diego-based biotechnology company with a platform to discover small molecule therapeutics against biologically compelling but previously intractable targets. Its platform, built on seminal work from labs at The Scripps Research Institute, enables screening of small molecules against every protein in native biological systems and identifies highly selective binders agnostic to protein class and function. Those binders can be developed into drugs using approaches including direct and allosteric modulation of protein function and targeted protein degradation. The company’s immediate focus is in oncology and immunology. Led by CEO Dr. Diego Miralles, Vividion intends to use new funding to expand operations and advance its research efforts. Vividion Therapeutics has developed a chemical proteomics platform that creates proteome-wide drug interaction maps to identify ligands and targets in native biological systems. The platform is designed to expand the druggable proteome and address targets previously considered undruggable by assessing target engagement and global selectivity early. Vividion applies novel chemistry to accelerate optimization of fragment hits into drug candidates and holds a robust intellectual property estate covering newly recognized druggable sites. The company was spun out of labs at The Scripps Research Institute and was founded with seed financing from Cardinal Partners. Headquartered in San Diego, Vividion focuses on developing transformative therapeutics to treat major unmet clinical needs. In conjunction with its launch financing, the company added experienced industry leadership to its board to support accelerated drug discovery and development.

Led · Series A · Sep 2017

Cardinal Analytx Solutions is a Palo Alto-based, AI-enabled health insights company spun out of StartX in 2017. Founded by Stanford professors Drs. Arnie Milstein and Nigam Shah and led by CEO Linda T. Hand, the company combines AI-enabled data science with health insights to identify people at high risk of rising cost and worsening health. It can predict specific types of high-cost, high-acuity events well in advance and match members with interventions and higher-value providers. Cardinal partners with health plans, employers and providers across the nation and has completed multiple pilots. Earlier this year it announced its first multiyear customer, Premera Blue Cross. The company plans to use the new funding to extend its lead in machine learning through investments in talent and technology. Cardinal Analytx Solutions builds advanced machine learning and AI-driven predictive analytics to identify impending healthcare costs and flag potential high-expense health plan enrollees. The company's platform provides targeted clinical recommendations designed to improve patient outcomes and contain costs. Cardinal Analytx was spun out of the Stanford-affiliated StartX accelerator and is led by CEO Thomas McKinley. It was co-founded by Stanford professors Arnie Milstein and Nigam Shah, who bring managed care and biomedical data science expertise. The company is based in Palo Alto, California. Cardinal Analytx recently completed a Series A financing to support product and team expansion.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2015

Ivenix develops a next-generation infusion system that integrates advanced information technology with a redesigned pump platform to improve accuracy, efficiency, and safety. The Ivenix Infusion System provides immediate, secure access to patient-specific infusion and pump management information and features an intuitive, smartphone-like user interface. The product combines fundamentally new pump technology with IT capabilities to address large-volume infusion delivery and interoperability with hospital EMRs. Ivenix plans to pursue FDA clearance and will use the financing to expand its team ahead of commercial launch. The company highlights a $6 billion global infusion pump market and frames its system as a response to persistent patient safety issues and lack of innovation. Ivenix is headquartered in Amesbury, Massachusetts; the U.S. FDA has not yet reviewed the Ivenix Infusion System. Ivenix provides an infusion management system for hospitals that combines a new pump delivery system, a smartphone-like user interface and an information technology system that shares infusion data with the patient’s electronic medical record. The product is designed to improve patient safety and workflow efficiency in clinical settings. The company is led by Jesse Ambrosina and is based in Amesbury, MA. Ivenix closed a $42M equity financing to support its operations. The new funding will support the company’s efforts to enter the global infusion market.

Participated · Equity · May 2015

lifeIMAGE operates a medical-grade image exchange network that combines local network image sharing with a secure cloud to make patients' imaging records accessible across health systems and care teams. The platform is deployed at hundreds of leading healthcare organizations and supports large implementations at academic medical centers, trauma centers, oncology centers and pediatric facilities. The network has been adopted by more than 120 multi-site health systems, nearly 450 hospitals using the platform across their campuses, plus another 700 hospitals joined for image exchange—exceeding 1,100 hospitals in total. The company reports about 90,000 clinical users across all 50 U.S. states and more than 90 countries, and that providers have shared more than two billion medical images through the network. lifeIMAGE says it is continuing to build out and enhance its intelligent, interoperable health data network and to expand strategic partnerships with industry leaders. lifeIMAGE provides a medical image exchange platform deployed at hundreds of healthcare organizations to facilitate the e-sharing of medical imaging information among hospitals, radiology groups, physicians and patients. The network consists of more than 120 multi-site health systems that include academic medical centers, pediatric facilities, certified trauma centers, oncology centers of excellence and imaging providers. Led by CEO and co-founder Hamid Tabatabaie, the company connects a broad set of care providers and imaging organizations. lifeIMAGE closed a $17.5M round of financing to support its operations. The company intends to use the funds to expand resources for its customer base, increase network capabilities and implement go-to-market initiatives. The business is based in Newton, Massachusetts. lifeIMAGE provides hospitals with tools to facilitate the secure electronic exchange of x-ray, CT, MRI, nuclear medicine, echocardiography, ultrasound and other diagnostic imaging exams in and out of their health care enterprise. Led by CEO Hamid Tabatabaie and based in Newton, MA, the company operates a network for sharing medical images and related health information. Its service has been used by more than 29,000 people in 68 countries to share over 410 million medical images. The company closed a $15M Series C round of financing and intends to use the capital to expand operations. The core product focuses on interoperability and secure image exchange for health care providers. Life Image offers cloud-based software that facilitates transferring, indexing and searching of digital medical images, starting with radiology (MRI, X-ray) and expanding to a variety of products and services for physicians, providers, and patients. The company provides open application programming interfaces to help healthcare IT vendors exchange imaging data and a service to attach medical images to electronic health records. In June it launched a publishing engine for its OutBox cloud service, used by major health systems to securely and automatically share imaging results. LifeIMAGE Networks tracks usage to review trends and identify opportunities for improvement or expansion. The company positions its products as addressing $10–$20 billion in inefficiencies from manual image transfer and sits within a medical informatics market Frost & Sullivan estimates at about $6.5 billion. Life Image counts workflows and security improvements as core differentiators versus CD/DVD-based image exchange. Life Image operates a cloud-based platform that enables secure, easy-to-deploy exchange of diagnostic images and medical information among physicians, hospitals and patients. The platform supports use cases such as replacing CD intake workflows, enabling radiology departments to send information to referring physicians, and allowing patients to send imaging to out-of-state specialists. lifeIMAGE says its network has been adopted by over 50 leading medical centers in the United States and touts recognition from The Wall Street Journal’s 2010 Technology Innovation Awards. The company emphasizes that timely access to medical information improves decision-making, saves lives and reduces costs. Life Image’s technology is positioned as a collaborative solution for hospitals, radiology departments and patients. The company is based in Newton, MA and recently undertook a new capital raise.

Participated · Equity · Sep 2014

Teladoc provides 24/7 access to affordable, non‑emergency medical care through a directly managed network of U.S.‑based, board‑certified physicians via phone, secure online video, a mobile app and HealthSpot walk‑in kiosks. Founded in 2002, the company serves 8 million members and performs more than 250,000 consults annually, and is targeting over a quarter‑million consults in the current year. Teladoc reports it has doubled revenue in each of the last two years, maintains an average physician callback time under 16 minutes, and achieves a 95 percent patient satisfaction rate. The company is the first telehealth provider to receive NCQA certification for its physician credentialing process, scoring 100 percent. Teladoc says it will use new funding to develop new products and services, expand into new markets and distribution channels, and pursue strategic partnerships and targeted acquisitions. Its services are used by large employers and insurers including Blue Shield of California, Highmark, Rent‑A‑Center and T‑Mobile. Teladoc provides 24/7 telehealth consultations to health plans, employers, unions, associations and consumers, connecting members to U.S.-based, board-certified physicians by telephone or secure online video. Upon requesting a consultation patients receive a callback in an average of 22 minutes, and sessions cost $38 or less. Each consultation includes a comprehensive review of the patient’s electronic health record; physicians treat a variety of conditions and may prescribe medication when appropriate and can, with approval, send records to the patient’s primary care physician. The company reports more than 3 million members and a 97 percent patient satisfaction rate, and its physicians meet or exceed National Committee for Quality Assurance standards. Teladoc says its service reduces utilization of costlier alternatives like emergency rooms and urgent care and improves employee productivity. The company plans to partner with Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to leverage the firm’s company-building expertise as it scales. Teladoc operates a nationwide network of licensed, board-certified primary care physicians delivering on-demand telehealth visits. Physicians access members' CCR-compliant electronic medical records to remotely diagnose and treat minor non-emergency medical problems. The Teladoc model is designed to manage a significant portion of non-emergent cases and to resolve routine medical issues faster and at lower cost than urgent care, emergency departments, or physician offices. The company reports average physician access in less than 30 minutes and a 97% approval rating from member patients. Teladoc announced a $4M investment to fund its next phase of growth and expand its market-leading position. Management plans to leverage investor relationships and expertise to accelerate growth and remove barriers to patient care. TelaDoc operates a national network of board-certified primary care physicians delivering telehealth consultations on demand, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Founded in 2002 and based in Dallas, Texas, the company connects patients with physicians via telehealth services. The company intends to use recent funding to support its next phase of growth. CEO Jason Gorevic said the funding will help enhance the primary care physician–patient relationship. He added the company aims to create meaningful and measurable change in the quality and cost of health care for millions of Americans. The article does not disclose revenue, user counts, or other operating metrics.