The Venture Codex

Participated · Equity · Mar 2018

Smartcare is a Las Vegas-based provider of cloud solutions for child care centers. It offers a mobile-first SaaS platform that lets providers manage check-in/check-out, staff/child ratios, reporting, billing, and real-time two-way communications between parents and teachers. The cloud-based solution is accessible from any connected device, helping providers connect with today’s parents online and on-the-go. Led by CEO Matt Knapp, the company intends to use the funding to continue expanding adoption of its SaaS solution. Smartcare reported over 4,000 active users and added more than 500 childcare centers and schools to its platform since the first of the year.

Participated · Equity · Jan 2012

CytoPherx develops a proprietary Selective Cytopheretic Device (SCD) that is added to the renal replacement circuit to modulate acute systemic inflammation in ICU patients with kidney injury. The company is clinical-stage and pursuing U.S. regulatory approval to commercialize its anti-inflammatory therapy for acute kidney injury. Management reports early trials showing potential mortality reductions of as much as 15% in critically ill patients. CytoPherx has initiated a 344-patient pivotal trial across leading U.S. nephrologists and institutions, with a primary endpoint of reduced mortality through day 60 and secondary evaluations including severe sepsis, ARDS, and long-term dialysis dependence. The company says the target population represents over 2.7 million hospitalized U.S. patients diagnosed with acute renal failure annually, with roughly 160,000 receiving Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy, a multi-billion dollar market opportunity. CytoPherx was founded in July 2007 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan. CytoPherx develops hollow-fiber dialysis filters designed to isolate and deactivate white blood cells in patients’ bloodstreams to treat renal failure and inflammation from cardiopulmonary bypass. The company is a University of Michigan spinoff, founded in 2007 and previously known as Nephrion Inc., based in Ann Arbor, Mich. The recent funding will support a clinical trial for its filters; CytoPherx began enrolling patients last month and expects to complete enrollment by the end of June. The current financing is part of an anticipated $7.5M Series B, with $5M already raised. The new funds are structured as equity, debt and warrants and were sourced from five investors. To date, the company has raised $12M in total lifetime funding.