• Venatorx Pharmaceuticals

  Led · Equity · Jan 2018

  Venatorx is a private, clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on improving outcomes for patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial infections and hard-to-treat viral infections. Its lead program, cefepime-taniborbactam, recently completed a Phase 3 study (CERTAIN-1) in adults with complicated urinary tract infections, meeting the primary noninferiority endpoint and demonstrating statistical superiority to the comparator meropenem while showing a similar safety profile. Venatorx expects to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the FDA for cefepime-taniborbactam in the fourth quarter of 2022. The company is also advancing an oral antibacterial program, ceftibuten/VNRX-7145. Venatorx has license and collaboration agreements with Everest Medicines, GARDP, and Roche and has received significant non-dilutive funding awards from NIAID/NIH, the Wellcome Trust, BARDA, DTRA, and CARB-X. The recent financing will be used to support progression of its antibacterial portfolio through development and regulatory milestones, including NDA submission and advancement in HABP/VABP indications. VenatoRx is advancing a novel non-beta-lactam penicillin-binding protein inhibitor (PBPi) program designed as an oral antibiotic to treat multi-drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Its discovered non-beta-lactam transpeptidase inhibitors are rapidly bactericidal, impervious to beta-lactamases, and show selective activity against gonococci, including strains with PBP variants conferring ceftriaxone resistance. The company plans to move these early molecules from hit-to-lead through IND-enabling studies. CARB-X funding is intended to support progression of the program through these preclinical stages. VenatoRx has an in-house R&D organization, has filed over 100 patents, and has historically received awards from NIAID/NIH, Wellcome Trust, BARDA, and DTRA. The company has also attracted private equity investment from Versant Ventures, Abingworth and Foresite Capital. VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals, founded in 2010 and based in Malvern, Pa., is a private company dedicated to discovering and developing novel agents to address antibiotic bacterial resistance. Its core technology is a proprietary platform of non‑beta‑lactam penicillin binding protein inhibitors (PBPis) intended to circumvent beta‑lactamase‑mediated resistance. The company is advancing a novel, first‑in‑class antibiotic derived from that platform for biodefense applications and will use recent funding to support discovery and preclinical development. VenatoRx’s lead clinical program combines VNRX-5133, a broad‑spectrum β‑lactamase inhibitor, with a marketed β‑lactam antibiotic. The program targets drug‑resistant pathogens of biodefense concern, including Burkholderia spp., Yersinia pestis, and Francisella tularensis. The company was recently awarded government funding to support these efforts. VenatoRx is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company advancing next-generation antibiotics to address multi-drug resistant gram-negative infections. Its lead program is intravenous VNRX-5133, a novel β-lactamase inhibitor in Phase I being developed paired with a marketed β-lactam antibiotic. VNRX-5133 is reported to inhibit all four major classes of β-lactamases, including metallo-β-lactamases, and aims to provide broad coverage versus difficult-to-treat gram-negative pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The company is also developing VNRX-7145, an orally bioavailable β-lactamase inhibitor in late preclinical development, plus preclinical compounds targeting penicillin binding proteins. Over the last seven years VenatoRx has advanced multiple compounds into development and is led by experienced founders and management with prior exits and drug-development track records. VenatoRx has previously received an undisclosed Series A and non-dilutive funding from the U.S. government (NIH) and the Wellcome Trust. Proceeds from the new financing will be used to accelerate and expand its portfolio. VenatoRx Pharmaceuticals is a life‑science startup developing novel therapeutics to treat bacterial infections ranging from MRSA to salmonella. The company was formed by Christopher Burns (president and CSO), Daniel Pevear (VP biology and grant development) and Luigi Xerri (chief development officer). VenatoRx is based in Malvern, Pa., and is continuing discovery and development work that began at Protez, where the founders previously served on the executive team. The team plans to advance its antibacterial candidates through development toward clinical application for hospital‑acquired and food‑/water‑borne infections. Financially, VenatoRx filed a Form D showing it raised $3.4 million in a private offering and counts nearly 60 investors. In 2010 the company won a $21.2 million NIH grant for a proposal to treat food‑ and water‑borne infections, providing prior non-dilutive funding support.

• MeMed

  Led · Grant · Apr 2017

  MeMed develops rapid host immune-response diagnostic tests that decode the body’s immune signals to help clinicians distinguish bacterial from viral infections and predict COVID-19 severity. The company’s MeMed BV® test received FDA clearance for use on the point-of-need MeMed Key® platform to aid in distinguishing bacterial and viral infections in children and adults. MeMed also markets the MeMed COVID-19 Severity™ test, which has been cleared for use in Europe. The company says it will use new funding to scale manufacturing, accelerate commercialization and expand its host-response product portfolio, with a particular operational focus on the U.S. MeMed reports total funding now exceeds $200 million, including prior support from the U.S. Department of Defense and the EU Commission. The company maintains a presence in Haifa, Israel and Boston, MA. MeMed has developed and validated an immune-based protein signature called MeMed BV™ to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections. The company is also completing development of MeMed Key™, a point-of-care protein measurement platform, and plans to upscale manufacturing and seek clearance for that device. MeMed intends to expand its pipeline of tests that integrate machine learning with immune-based measurements to address major clinical challenges. The company is led by co‑founders Dr. Eran Eden (CEO) and Dr. Kfir Oved (CTO). MeMed completed an over $70M financing round to support market adoption, product development, manufacturing scale-up, regulatory clearance efforts, and pipeline expansion. MeMed develops host-response diagnostics built on its ImmunoXpert platform, which measures a three-protein signature (TRAIL, IP-10 and C-reactive protein) to differentiate bacterial and viral infections. The technology has been validated in large studies but cannot identify exact pathogen strains. The current instrument requires about two hours and a trained technician, limiting emergency-room use. Co-founders CEO Eran Eden and CTO Kfir Oved are developing a second-generation benchtop device that would use the same three proteins and algorithm to deliver results in under 15 minutes from a drop of blood and be plug-and-play. MeMed's stated clinical goal is to right-size antibiotic use to reduce inappropriate prescriptions and slow antibiotic resistance. The company received DTRA funding to accelerate development of the faster, easier-to-use instrument.

No current team members are available.