Participated · Equity · Jan 2023

Spiral Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company focused on developing therapies for inner ear disorders, including hearing loss and balance disorders, and advancing its MICS™ (Minimally-Invasive Cochlear System) drug delivery platform. The company’s lead program, SPT-2101, produced a statistically significant reduction in overall vertigo in patients with Ménière’s disease, and Spiral is preparing for a registrational clinical trial. Spiral’s pipeline also includes neurotrophic approaches and other hearing loss programs enabled by precision cochlear delivery. Recent financing will fund continued development of SPT-2101 and expansion of the MICS™ platform. Spiral announced an R&D collaboration with Advanced Bionics to evaluate sustained local drug delivery at the time of cochlear implantation. The company is based in South San Francisco.

Participated · Series A · Jun 2022

Endpoint Health, based in Palo Alto, Calif., combines therapeutics, therapy-guiding tests, and AI as a Precision-First platform to develop targeted treatments for immune-mediated acute and chronic conditions. Its lead program is Antithrombin III, described as the company's first precision therapy, which the company plans to advance to a Phase II clinical trial for sepsis. Proceeds from the recent financing will be used to extend the Precision-First platform and expand the therapeutic pipeline into chronic immune-mediated diseases. The company expects to submit an IND and an IDE for the Antithrombin III program to the U.S. FDA later this year. Endpoint emphasizes addressing large unmet needs in conditions such as sepsis and inflammatory bowel disease where many patients fail to respond to current therapies. Endpoint Health launched to bring targeted therapies to patients with critical illnesses such as sepsis, ARDS, and COVID-19. The company combines novel and on-market therapeutics, companion diagnostics, and artificial intelligence into an integrated platform. It uses molecular and digital patient data to build therapeutic models that identify distinct patient subgroups and treatment patterns. Those models are used to find late-stage and on-market therapies for repurposing and to develop the necessary tests and software to guide their use. Endpoint is collaborating with more than 40 U.S. and international hospitals and is led by an experienced team that includes co-founders of GeneWEAVE, which was acquired by Roche in a 2015 deal valued at $425 million. The company is based in Palo Alto with offices in Detroit and Chicago and has secured early financing to support its launch.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2022

Ansa Biotechnologies is a DNA synthesis company based in Emeryville, CA that focuses on producing sequence-perfect clonal DNA and sequence-verified linear double-stranded DNA fragments. Its platform aims to give scientists rapid, accurate access to synthetic DNA for applications across healthcare, life sciences, and other industries. To reinforce reliability, the company recently launched the Ansa On-Time Guarantee, promising that any order not shipped in full and on time will be provided free of charge. It has also rolled out a new pricing framework targeting low-complexity DNA sequences to make routine orders more cost-effective. With its latest capital infusion, Ansa plans to expand U.S. manufacturing capacity, deepen customer-experience initiatives, and strengthen strategic partnerships while advancing its technology stack. Although no revenue or user figures were disclosed, the firm’s continued fundraising indicates growing market traction and operational scaling needs.

Participated · Equity · Mar 2022

Affini-T’s proprietary platform selects and engineers T cells and combines highly active TCRs with synthetic biology switches to enhance T cell function, durability and tumor infiltration. The company is initially focused on targeting mutant variants of KRAS, a prevalent oncogenic driver mutation in solid tumors. Its platform aims to rewrite the rules of the tumor microenvironment to produce sustained clinical responses in hard-to-treat cancers such as lung, colorectal and pancreatic cancer. Affini-T plans to operationalize its discovery engine and drive multiple oncogene driver programs into the clinic while pursuing complementary technology licenses to bolster its cell therapy platform. To enable and accelerate growth the company has established a bi-coastal U.S. presence with research labs in Seattle and headquarters and manufacturing infrastructure in Boston. The management team and scientific advisory board include leaders from industry and top research institutions, underscoring the company’s emphasis on translational cellular engineering.

Participated · Series B · Mar 2022

Finless Foods develops cell-cultured and plant-based seafood alternatives with an initial focus on bluefin tuna. The company is constructing a Bay Area pilot facility to produce its first saleable cell-cultured bluefin tuna and is pursuing regulatory approval to enable sales and consumption. It plans to nationally launch its plant-based tuna into U.S. foodservice in 2022 and to explore international distribution in Asia while expanding its plant-based seafood portfolio. The company will use new funding to expand its team, deepen technical R&D, and build business capabilities to transition from R&D to a food company. Finless also aims to drive down the price of cell-cultured bluefin tuna to reach parity with conventional tuna and to reduce pressure on wild-capture tuna stocks. The company convenes an Impact Board of ocean and sustainable seafood experts and was the first to serve cell-cultured fish in the United States. Finless Foods, founded in 2017 by biochemists Michael Selden and Bryan Wyrwas, develops real fish meat grown from stem cells. The company uses cellular-agriculture technologies to grow marine-animal cells and is initially producing bluefin tuna. It aims to create more sustainable seafood without the environmental devastation or health hazards of traditional fishing and aquatic farming. Based in San Francisco, CA, Finless Foods raised $3.5M in seed funding. The company intends to use the funds to finalize its initial R&D phase and move into production, pending the closing of a Series A.