Participated · Series B · Dec 2021

Tasso develops clinical‑quality, virtually painless blood collection devices paired with an integrated logistics platform to enable decentralized health testing for pharma, research, and healthcare customers. Its products allow users to collect blood at convenient times and locations, increasing access to remote populations and reducing clinic visit burdens. The company’s devices are used in decentralized clinical trials, clinical research, and remote patient monitoring globally. Tasso plans to use new capital to scale manufacturing and operations to meet rising demand for at‑home testing driven by the COVID‑19 pandemic. The company emphasizes partnerships with pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, and payers to deliver actionable health data. Tasso is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and is privately held. Tasso develops clinical-grade, at-home self-sampling blood-collection devices called Tasso OnDemand that enable virtually painless blood collection with a push-button workflow. Collected samples are mailed to CLIA-certified, high-complexity laboratories for analysis. The products are being validated for routine diagnostics, chronic disease monitoring, infectious disease surveillance, athletic and sports testing, virtual clinical trials, global health, and care for underserved populations, and are being adopted by academic medical institutions, government agencies, comprehensive cancer centers, and pharmaceutical organizations. Tasso plans to scale manufacturing and operations to meet growing demand and to enhance the platform with new value-added services. The company is headquartered in Seattle and is privately held, funded by grants, private investments, and co-development collaborations. Tasso recently completed an oversubscribed $17 million Series A and has raised $38.6 million in total to date. Tasso develops Tasso OnDemand, a self-collection blood-sampling product that lets people collect blood at home and mail samples to labs for analysis. The company positions the product to improve drug development and clinical care by enabling frequent measurement of blood markers. Tasso expects Tasso OnDemand to be available for purchase in Q2 2019 and plans to scale the product and grow the team to meet commercial demand. The business has attracted commercial interest from pharmaceutical and lab partners and pursues co-development deals with industry leaders. Tasso is privately held and headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Its technology development was supported by $13.1 million in grant funding from DARPA, DTRA, and the NIH.

Participated · Series A · Apr 2021

Metagenomi is described in the article as a gene editing startup. The company recently completed an initial public offering. That IPO raised $94 million. The article does not provide details on the company’s product pipeline, operating metrics, investors, founding year, or location. The mention of Metagenomi appeared as a brief item in a biotech news roundup. Metagenomi develops next-generation gene editing systems and a proprietary metagenomics-powered discovery platform to find and adapt novel cellular machinery for therapeutic use. Its toolbox aims to produce ultra-small, highly specific editors with reduced immune risk for in vivo applications. The company is advancing wholly owned lead therapeutic programs through preclinical development toward clinical proof-of-concept and has initiated nonhuman primate in vivo gene editing studies. Metagenomi plans to nominate additional therapeutic targets to expand its pipeline using an automated discovery engine and its versatile gene editing toolbox. It cites successful partnerships with Moderna and Ionis Pharmaceuticals and reports a healthy cash runway to support near-term milestones. The company states its goal is to develop potentially curative therapeutics that can edit DNA where current technologies cannot. Metagenomi leverages a proprietary metagenomics-powered discovery platform to identify and adapt naturally evolved gene editing systems that are ultra-small, efficient, and highly specific. The company develops a toolbox of next-generation gene editing systems intended to enable edits where current technologies cannot, with applications across in vivo and ex vivo therapeutic programs. Metagenomi plans to advance its lead gene editing programs through preclinical development and into the clinic and to expand its manufacturing, automation, and AI infrastructure. Its pipeline targets metabolic, cardiovascular, and CNS diseases, as well as immuno-oncology, and the company also intends to make its systems available to partners. The firm emphasizes decreased risk of immune response and high specificity as differentiators for its platforms. Financially, the company has raised a total of $300 million to date. Metagenomi develops proprietary CRISPR-based gene‑editing systems discovered via a metagenomics-powered discovery platform that reveals novel cellular machinery from otherwise unknown organisms. The company adapts these naturally evolved systems into therapeutic tools for partners and to fuel its own pipeline of potentially curative medicines. Metagenomi says its toolbox enables editing where current technologies cannot and aims to match the best technology to unmet medical needs. The recent Series A extension will support expansion of the team and development of the company’s therapeutic pipeline. Leadership highlights plans to advance both in vivo and ex vivo therapies toward the clinic. The company frames its goal as revolutionizing gene editing to benefit patients worldwide.

Participated · Series B · Jan 2021

Neuros Medical is a Willoughby Hills, Ohio–based neuromodulation company focused on treating intractable post-amputation pain through its proprietary Altius High-Frequency Nerve Block system. The implant consists of a cuff electrode placed around a peripheral nerve and an implantable pulse generator that delivers high-frequency electrical signals to block pain transmission. The technology, originally invented at Case Western Reserve University by Drs. Kevin Kilgore and Niloy Bhadra, targets both phantom limb pain and residual limb pain. Neuros Medical is currently running the pivotal QUEST trial, a 180-subject, randomized, double-blinded, active-sham–controlled study being conducted under an IDE to evaluate safety and effectiveness. Proceeds from the latest financing will fund completion of QUEST enrollment and preparation of a Pre-Market Approval application to the FDA. Led by President and CEO Tom Wilder, the company aims to commercialize Altius as a novel alternative to existing pain management solutions. Financial metrics such as revenue or installed base were not disclosed in the article.

Led · Series B · Dec 2018

WhiteSwell is developing a minimally invasive catheter-based technology that enhances the lymphatic system to remove excess interstitial fluid in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). The company’s approach targets interstitial decongestion rather than the vascular system, aiming to achieve complete decongestion while preserving renal function. WhiteSwell was founded by CTO Yaacov Nitzan in 2014 and is based in Galway, Ireland. Leadership recently added CEO Eamon Brady and CFO Seán Mac Réamoinn, both formerly of Neuravi. The company is conducting an early feasibility study at clinical sites in the U.S., Israel and Europe. The newly announced $30 million financing will support product development and a pivotal study of the technology.

Participated · Series C · Aug 2017

Channel Medsystems, based in Emeryville, Calif., has developed the Cerene® Cryotherapy Device to treat heavy menstrual bleeding. Cerene is designed to allow women who are finished with childbearing to receive treatment in their gynecologist’s office and is currently limited to investigational use in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The company completed the treatment phase of a 242-patient, multicenter pivotal study in March and received CE mark approval in July. Channel Medsystems raised $14.1M in a Series C-1 financing to support initiatives leading up to anticipated FDA approval and initial commercial launch preparation. The insider-led round included participation by Third Point Ventures, InCube Ventures, Aperture Venture Partners, Scientific Health Development, Longwood Fund and Boston Scientific. Ric Cote serves as President and CEO. Channel Medsystems has developed a cryothermic technology and a self-contained, handheld delivery system for endometrial ablation that eliminates the need for separate control units or capital equipment. The system is designed to enable gynecologists to perform the procedure in a standard office exam room without conscious sedation. Company data include a 40-patient feasibility study in Canada demonstrating that gynecologists can successfully and comfortably deliver the procedure in an office setting. Channel Medsystems aims to shift endometrial ablation away from hospitals and surgery centers to the gynecologist's office and to displace heat-based ablation technologies. The firm will use new funding to initiate a pivotal study and move closer to commercialization of the first true office-based endometrial ablation procedure. The company positions its technology as delivering value to patients, physicians and payers by enabling lower-cost, convenient care. Channel Medsystems is a San Francisco, CA–based clinical-stage medical technology company and a spin-out of incubator TheraNova. It has developed a cryogen-based Global Endometrial Ablation (GEA) technology to treat excessive menstrual bleeding as an alternative to more invasive surgical procedures. Co-founded by Dr. Dan Burnett and led by newly appointed president and CEO Ric Cote, the company is advancing its GEA platform through clinical work and regulatory activities. The company raised $9.7M in a Series B to support continued development of its cryogen-based GEA technology and to fund ongoing R&D and clinical regulatory efforts. Proceeds are intended to further product development and progress clinical/regulatory programs toward commercialization.