Participated · Seed · Feb 2024

Yuva Biosciences applies AI to mitochondrial research to identify compounds that restore mitochondrial function; its first ingredient to market is YuvaBio® Y100™. Y100 is available for licensing to non-drug consumer brands and is being incorporated into BosleyMD’s Revive Plus Densifying Foam for national retail and e-commerce rollout. The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama. Yuva’s scientific leadership includes Co‑Founder and CSO Dr. Keshav K. Singh and CEO Greg Schmergel; the team also includes consumer-products veteran Dr. Shekhar Mitra. The company reports noticeable effects in multiple clinical trials and positions the platform to target additional mitochondrial-related indications such as ovarian aging and wound care. Financially, Yuva completed a $7.5M seed financing led by VentureSouth.

Participated · Seed · Dec 2023

MitoRx Therapeutics operates as a platform biotech focused on translating mitochondrial biology into novel therapeutics for obesity and broader metabolic disorders. Its lead candidates are innovative small-molecule metabolic modulators designed to induce weight loss without compromising muscle integrity, a key differentiator in the crowded obesity-drug landscape. The company is currently at the preclinical stage and is building a pipeline around these modulators. With its recent pre-seed capital raise of roughly $7.3 million, MitoRx will accelerate preclinical validation studies, prepare for future regulatory submissions, and expand both its scientific team and laboratory infrastructure. Management plans to deploy the funds toward advancing its lead programs through early development milestones. Although still pre-revenue, the influx of capital signifies investor confidence in the company’s scientific approach and commercial potential. MitoRx’s near-term objectives include scaling its research footprint and progressing toward clinical readiness. Over the longer term, it aims to deliver differentiated treatments that improve metabolic health and preserve muscle mass in millions of patients.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2023

Rejuvenation Technologies develops mRNA-based therapeutics aimed at reversing mechanisms of aging, with a lead candidate that targets telomere shortening. Their products include optimized telomerase mRNA encapsulated in custom tissue-targeted lipid nanoparticles (LNP) designed to deliver to lung and liver. The company reports that a single dose can rewind years of telomere shortening in stem cells and has shown preclinical efficacy in liver fibrosis and liver failure models. Rejuvenation plans to advance programs toward IND approval for fibrotic diseases including pulmonary fibrosis and liver cirrhosis, and is conducting early research targeting the immune system. Funding will also support expansion of operations and hires for scale-up manufacturing, clinical operations, and R&D to expand mRNA delivery to additional organs. Co-founders John Ramunas, Ph.D., and Glenn Markov, Ph.D., developed the underlying work at Stanford, and Dan Chambers will join as Chief Medical Officer.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2022

Cleara is a preclinical-stage biotechnology company spun out from University Medical Center Utrecht focused on developing FOXO4-based D-amino acid peptide therapies to eliminate ‘scarred cellular’ senescent cells in late-stage cancers and chronic diseases. The company has optimized two lead candidates, CL04177 and CL04183, which selectively target biomarker-positive scarred cancer cells and have shown activity in 2D culture, 3D organoids, and mouse models of metastatic colon cancer and triple-negative breast cancer. Both leads demonstrated favorable pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution in mice, and a maximum tolerated dose well above their efficacious dose. Cleara aims to develop niche-directed precision medicines accompanied by associated biomarkers to treat specific disease subtypes. The company plans to progress its compounds toward clinical development, build its pipeline and management team, and scale preclinical and regulatory efforts in the U.S. and EU to enter the clinic by 2024. Cleara recently appointed Dr. Angelos Stergiou as Board Chairman to support its clinical and corporate strategy.

Participated · Seed · Sep 2022

Cleara Biotech focuses on developing therapies that target “scarred cellular” senescence to treat late-stage cancers and chronic diseases. The company has optimized two lead candidates, CL04177 and CL04183, built around FOXO4-based D-amino acid peptides and associated biomarkers to address subtypes of senescence. Both leads show potency against scarred cancer cells in 2D culture and 3D organoids, reduce metastatic burden and infiltration in mouse models of metastatic colon cancer and triple-negative breast cancer, and exhibit favorable pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution with an MTD above efficacious doses in mice. Cleara plans to use its recent financing to progress these compounds toward clinical development and to further build its developmental pipeline and management team. The company is a spinout from University Medical Center Utrecht and is based in Utrecht, The Netherlands. Dr. Peter de Keizer is Managing Director and Scientific Founder, and Dr. Angelos Stergiou was appointed chairman of the board.