Led · Series B · Oct 2021

Led by founder and CEO David Benshoof Klein, Click Therapeutics develops, validates, and commercializes regulated, clinically validated prescription mobile applications intended to treat unmet medical needs. The company uses a proprietary platform-based approach that leverages patient-centric design and AI-based technologies to drive engagement and clinical outcomes. Its pipeline spans indications in psychiatry, neurology, oncology, immunology, and cardiometabolic disease. Click has secured FDA authorizations for CT-132 (episodic migraine) and Rejoyn (major depressive disorder, co-developed with Otsuka Pharmaceuticals). The company holds an IP portfolio that includes 63 granted patents. Financially, Click recently closed a $50M Series D led by Boehringer Ingelheim and previously completed a strategic partnership and Series C financing with Medidata and Dassault Systèmes. As part of the latest transaction, Boehringer agreed to transfer full commercial and marketing authorization rights for CT-155 to Click, positioning the company for commercialization activities.

Led · Series A · Oct 2020

Orbus Therapeutics is a late-stage, private biopharmaceutical company based in Palo Alto focused on developing therapies for rare diseases. Its lead product candidate, eflornithine, is being evaluated in the pivotal STELLAR Phase 3 trial for recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma. The company is planning additional clinical studies of eflornithine in other malignant gliomas. STELLAR began in late 2016, involves more than 85 clinical trial centers across eight countries, and plans to enroll approximately 340 patients with overall survival as the primary endpoint. Eflornithine has received FDA Orphan Drug and Breakthrough Therapy designations and Orphan Medicinal Product status from the CHMP/EMA. The company expanded its Series A financing to support the ongoing STELLAR study and upcoming trials. Orbus Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in Palo Alto, California, focused on developing and commercializing therapies for rare diseases. Its lead product candidate is eflornithine, described as a novel cytostatic agent, being developed to treat patients with recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma (rAA), a rare central nervous system cancer. The company is led by co‑founder and CEO Bob Myers. Orbus completed a $32.5M Series A financing to advance its clinical work. Management intends to use the proceeds to conduct a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating eflornithine. Dr. Ernest Mario participated in the financing and joined the company as Chairman of the Board.

Participated · Series A · May 2020

Arvelle Therapeutics is an emerging biopharmaceutical company focused on bringing treatments to patients with CNS disorders and is responsible for developing and commercializing cenobamate in Europe. The company is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. Cenobamate was discovered by SK Biopharmaceuticals and SK life science and is approved in the U.S., where it is commercially available as XCOPRI. Arvelle holds exclusive European rights and is preparing for a potential European launch pending regulatory approval. The company plans to expand operations across Europe and make country-by-country hires in preparation for that launch. Clinical work includes open-label extensions of prior trials and an ongoing randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating cenobamate in primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures (NCT03678753). Financially, Arvelle has secured substantial capital to support commercialization and operations. Arvelle Therapeutics was launched as a spin-off from Axovant Sciences to focus on bringing innovative solutions to patients with CNS disorders. The company’s lead program is cenobamate, a novel small-molecule investigational antiepileptic drug for potential treatment of partial-onset seizures in adults. Arvelle entered into an exclusive license with SK Biopharmaceuticals to develop and commercialize cenobamate in Europe and intends to file a Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) based on SK Biopharmaceuticals’ global clinical trial program. The new company assembled a leadership team from Axovant, with Mark Altmeyer named president and CEO. Arvelle received substantial initial funding from a global syndicate of biotechnology investors, enabling the licensing agreement and launch. Axovant originated and structured the cenobamate license but is not contributing capital to Arvelle’s initial financing, which is non-dilutive to Axovant shareholders.

Participated · Series A · Oct 2019

Zerigo Health provides an FDA-cleared, connected light therapy solution that enables Americans living with psoriasis, vitiligo, and eczema to self-administer narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy at home or on the go. The core product is a handheld device paired with a smartphone app; prescription dosing is controlled via secure cloud-based technology and patients are remotely monitored and given personal coaching and support. The system aligns with American Academy of Dermatology guideline-recommended NB-UVB phototherapy and is designed to keep physicians and patients connected with personalized data and insights. The company said it will use the newly raised funds to expand its business reach. Zerigo raised $43M in a Series B round led by 7wireVentures. John E. Schellhorn is President and CEO, and the company is based in San Diego, California. Clarify Medical develops the Clarify Home Light Therapy System, a connected phototherapy device that uses a patient’s smartphone app to manage targeted narrowband UVB treatments. The FDA‑cleared System controls dose, frequency, and duration while monitoring dosing, adherence, patient progress, and satisfaction via cloud connectivity. Treatments are prescribed by physicians but administered at home with clinical precision, enabling remote physician oversight. The company has established Medicare coverage and says the System is now available nationally in the U.S. Clarify intends to use recent financing to commercialize the product, improve market access, and build awareness within the medical dermatology community. The announcement highlights a U.S. patient population of about 30 million people with psoriasis, vitiligo, and eczema and roughly 5,400 medical dermatologists.

Led · Equity · Jul 2019

Exagen is focused on transforming care for patients with debilitating and chronic autoimmune diseases by enabling timely differential diagnosis, prognosis, and monitoring. The company commercializes a portfolio of testing products under its AVISE brand, several of which are based on its proprietary Cell-Bound Complement Activation Products (CB-CAPs) technology. CB-CAPs assess activation of the complement system, a pathway implicated across many autoimmune and autoimmune-related diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Exagen launched a therapeutics promotion business earlier this year and intends to continue growing its testing business by commercializing products in its R&D pipeline and expanding its sales force footprint. Its flagship test, AVISE CTD, has been ordered over 300,000 times since its 2012 launch. The company’s business model integrates testing products and therapeutics to offer targeted solutions to rheumatologists and better serve patients. Exagen Diagnostics is a commercial-stage specialty diagnostics company based in Vista, CA and Albuquerque, NM that focuses on autoimmune connective tissue diseases. It operates a College of American Pathologists (CAP)–accredited, CLIA‑certified rheumatology specialty laboratory led by CEO Ron Rocca. The company commercializes proprietary Cell Bound Complement Activation Products (CB-CAPs) technology and a suite of AVISE® tests for diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of conditions such as SLE, RA and APS. Its AVISE portfolio includes disease-specific assays (AVISE CTD, AVISE SLE Prognostic, AVISE SLE Monitor, AVISE APS) and therapeutic drug monitoring tests (AVISE MTX, AVISE HCQ). Exagen received up to $25M in debt financing in the form of term loans provided by an affiliate of Innovatus Capital Partners. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate commercialization of its CB-CAPs technology. Exagen Diagnostics is a commercial-stage specialty diagnostic company that develops and commercializes novel diagnostic products to enable physicians to accurately diagnose patients. The company operates a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited laboratory in Vista, Calif., and maintains corporate offices in Albuquerque, N.M. Leadership includes Ron Rocca (president and CEO) and Curt LaBelle, M.D. (chairman of Exagen and managing director at Tullis Health Investors). Exagen recently raised equity capital to support its growth. The company intends to use proceeds for market expansion and development of near-term pipeline products. No operating metrics beyond the fundraising and locations were provided in the article.