• Armetheon

  Participated · Series B · Feb 2015

  Armetheon is a San Francisco Bay area clinical-stage specialty biopharmaceutical company focused on cardiovascular disease. Its lead candidate, tecarfarin, is a novel vitamin-K-antagonist (VKA) oral anticoagulant designed to avoid adverse drug reactions associated with warfarin. The company intends to use the Series B proceeds to advance tecarfarin through pivotal clinical development. Tecarfarin’s final pivotal study (TACT) is a 3,000-patient, open-label, real-world trial conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment agreed with the FDA in April 2014. The TACT trial will compare tecarfarin with warfarin across indications requiring oral anticoagulation, including underserved populations such as patients who respond poorly to warfarin and patients with prosthetic heart valves. The company is led by M. (Ken) Kengatharan, Ph.D., President and Interim CEO. Armetheon develops mid- to late-stage cardiovascular drug candidates with a focus on oral anticoagulation and atrial fibrillation. Its lead program is Tecarfarin, which is being investigated for all patients who require an oral anticoagulant, including those with mechanical heart valves. Earlier in the year the company reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) for the final pivotal trial, TACT, for Tecarfarin. The company raised $7.0m in a Series A financing to support its programs and to keep an NDA filing timeline in 2017 for Tecarfarin. Armetheon was founded in 2011 by M. (Ken) Kengatharan, PhD, who serves as President & COO. The company is based in the San Francisco Bay area.

• U-Systems

  Participated · Equity · May 2011

  U-Systems, based in Sunnyvale, Calif., is a leader in automated breast ultrasound technology and the sponsor of the SOMO•INSIGHT multi-center study. Its somo•v Automated Breast Ultrasound System (ABUS) is 510(k) cleared for use as an adjunct to mammography and has CE mark approval for breast ultrasound screening in Europe. The company is running SOMO•INSIGHT, a U.S. study planned to enroll up to 20,000 women to evaluate the sensitivity of mammography plus somo•v ABUS versus mammography alone for women with dense breast tissue. U-Systems cites evidence that supplementing mammograms with ultrasound can increase detection from 48 to 97 percent and is focused on improving early detection in women with dense breasts. Current plans include completing a Pre-Market Approval (PMA) submission to the U.S. FDA, finishing the SOMO•INSIGHT clinical study, and continuing development of the next-generation ABUS. The company recently secured additional capital to fund those regulatory, clinical, and product-development activities. U-Systems, based in Sunnyvale, California, designs, manufactures and supplies automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) systems for breast cancer detection. Its somo•v™ Automated Breast Ultrasound System is FDA-cleared and CE-Marked. The company positions ABUS as a complement to digital mammography, particularly for women with dense breasts. U-Systems plans to complete a clinical trial to evaluate whether somo•v used alongside digital mammography is more sensitive at detecting breast lesions than mammography alone. The recently completed financing will enable the company to finish that clinical trial. Investors in the round include both new and existing backers.

No current team members are available.