Led · Series A · May 2020

Nanjing Aorui Pharmaceutical develops PROTAC-based small-molecule drugs and has engineered a tumor tissue‑specific E3 ligase for use in PROTAC technology. The company is located in the Nanjing Jiangbei New Area Life and Health Industry Park. It positions PROTAC as a disruptive approach to address previously “undruggable” targets and reports having laid a solid foundation for its PROTAC product development. Nanjing Aorui plans to focus its pipeline on these undruggable targets and accelerate clinical‑demanded innovative drug development. The company is recruiting industry talent to support its R&D efforts. Financially, it completed a near‑RMB 100 million Pre‑A equity financing earlier this year.

Led · Series A · May 2017

Aadi Bioscience is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing ABI-009, a nanoparticle albumin-bound mTOR inhibitor (nab-rapamycin) based on sirolimus. ABI-009 was licensed to Aadi in 2014 by Celgene and is being advanced because of its differentiated pharmacokinetic profile and higher tolerated IV doses versus oral mTOR inhibitors. The company is enrolling a phase 2 registration trial in advanced PEComa with FDA agreement on study design and an expected enrollment of ~30–35 patients, with overall response rate as the primary endpoint. An independent data monitoring committee reviewed available data and recommended the PEComa study continue without modification. Aadi also plans clinical programs in pulmonary hypertension (phase 1), early-stage bladder cancer (phase 2) and pediatric cancers (phase 1), and continues to investigate applications in cardiovascular and other diseases. The company is led by founder and CEO Neil Desai, Ph.D., and has added new board members from its investor base.

Led · Series D · Apr 2017

Epic Sciences develops and markets liquid‑biopsy diagnostics to guide therapy selection and monitor disease progression in prostate and breast cancers. Its flagship offering, DefineMBC, is a three‑component blood‑based biopsy that reports circulating tumor cell detection, HER2 and ER protein expression and single‑cell sequencing for ERBB2 amplification, alongside a 56‑gene plasma cell‑free DNA panel including ERBB2 and PIK3CA and tumor mutational burden. The company leverages proprietary cell analysis and cell‑free analysis in a CAP/CLIA‑accredited laboratory and provides Comprehensive Cancer Profiling to pharmaceutical partners and major cancer centers. Epic has delivered DefineMBC results to 700 patients and their oncologists through a Clinical Experience Program. In the past twelve months Epic raised $67 million across a $43M Series F and a $24M Series G to fund commercialization of DefineMBC. Proceeds are being used to build commercial infrastructure (sales, product marketing, customer service, medical affairs, payer markets and billing) and to generate additional concordance and outcomes data. Epic Sciences is a diagnostics company based in San Diego that develops and markets liquid biopsy tests and multi-omic cancer profiling to guide therapy selection and monitor disease progression in prostate and breast cancers. Its liquid biopsy platform combines proprietary cell analysis capabilities with cell-free DNA analysis to provide more complete, efficient cancer profiling. The company operates a full-service CAP/CLIA-accredited laboratory and provides research support services, partnering with pharmaceutical companies and major cancer centers worldwide. Epic's DefineMBC™ blood-based test for comprehensively characterizing metastatic breast cancer has been reporting patient results since April 2022 and uses multi-analyte methods to detect circulating tumor cells, assess protein expression (HER2, ER), determine intra-cell CNVs, and identify SNVs, indels, fusions, CNVs, MSI and TMB from plasma. The company plans to use the new capital to continue advancing its multi-omic platform and to expand operations in single-cell sequencing and data analytics infrastructure. Lloyd Sanders serves as President and CEO. Epic Sciences develops diagnostics and decision-support analytics that match patients’ individual cancer cells to individualized drug therapies using computer vision and machine learning. The company’s technology is aimed at prolonging life and reducing treatment costs by avoiding ineffective therapies. Epic is advancing oncology decision-support services in its pipeline and plans to accelerate clinical studies to validate and commercialize those offerings. Proceeds from the recent financing are expected to fund those clinical studies and support execution of its long-term growth plan. Epic is based in San Diego and positions its products for value-based, individualized cancer care. Epic Sciences, based in San Diego, develops blood-based liquid biopsy tests designed to predict drug response in cancer patients. Its core platform is the proprietary No Cell Left Behind technology and a portfolio of blood-based tests that characterize rare circulating cells using digital imaging and big data analytics. The company plans to use the funds to accelerate clinical studies for oncology tests in its pipeline and to enhance No Cell Left Behind to include characterization of rare leukocyte cell populations. These enhancements are intended to drive transformative insights into the cellular drivers of response or resistance to key drug classes such as immuno-oncology therapies. Epic recently partnered with Genomic Health to commercialize the OncotypeDx AR-V7 Nucleus Detect test and to leverage Genomic Health’s commercial channel and enterprise systems. Murali Prahalad, Ph.D., serves as president and CEO. Epic Sciences develops technology that enables comprehensive characterization of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from a liquid biopsy to inform therapy selection and detect early signs of drug resistance. The company is led by Murali Prahalad, Ph.D., president and CEO. Epic offers products and offerings aimed at personalizing and advancing the treatment and management of cancer. The company expanded available capital under an existing credit facility, giving it optionality to accelerate expansion of research capabilities and product development efforts. The amended credit facility increases available capacity and extends the financing maturity, improving near‑term liquidity and runway for R&D. Epic is a private diagnostics company based in San Diego, CA.

Led · Series D · Jun 2016

Applied StemCell (ASC) develops gene-editing platforms and therapeutics enabled by its proprietary TARGATT™ and CRISPR/Cas9 technologies. The company produces enabling tools and leverages genome editing for animal and cell model generation. ASC says it is building a therapeutic pipeline with a strong focus on monogenic blood disorders and high genetic-penetrance diseases. It also emphasizes expanding and strengthening its intellectual property portfolio around improved genome-editing technologies. Management frames the work as enabling scientific discovery and advancing human medicine through both products and therapeutics. The company is based in Milpitas, California.

Participated · Series B · Sep 2015

Ativa Medical is a St. Paul, Minn.-based growth medical diagnostic company developing and commercializing novel point-of-care diagnostic technologies. Led by James McNally, Ph.D., the company is pursuing approval and commercialization of an innovative tabletop Ativa micro lab. The micro lab is designed to enable health care professionals to perform critical hematology and blood chemistry tests on-site and obtain accurate results in five minutes. Ativa intends to use recent funding to advance product development and secure regulatory approval. The company raised $15M in Series B equity financing to support FDA approval efforts and preparations for commercial launch.