• Firefly BioWorks

  Led · Grant · May 2012

  Firefly BioWorks is a Cambridge, MA-based developer of next-generation multiplexed assays for biomarker detection. The company is introducing a high-performance, universal technology platform for multiplexed biomarker detection with applications in life sciences research and clinical diagnostics. Its assays can be performed on standard laboratory equipment such as flow cytometers, microarray scanners and fluorescence microscopes. FirePlex, the company’s first product, is designed to detect microRNAs. Led by co-founder and CEO Davide Marini and co-founder and CTO Daniel Pregibon, Firefly intends to use recent grant funding to expand the reach of its products to clinical scientists and research hospitals. The article notes a $500k award from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to support commercialization efforts. Firefly BioWorks develops an open platform that enables industrial, academic and clinical scientists to develop and use multiplexed biological assays on standard laboratory instrumentation. The company’s core technology, Optical Liquid Stamping, was developed in the Chemical Engineering Department at MIT by the co-founders. The Optical Liquid Stamping method enables rapid, scalable synthesis of encoded, multi-functional particles for quantifying biological function. Firefly intends to use the recent funding to execute its commercial strategy and to launch an early access program with leading academic and industrial partners. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Dr. Davide Marini and is based in Cambridge, MA. No operating metrics were disclosed in the article.

• HepatoChem

  Led · Debt Financing · Apr 2012

  HepatoChem has developed a proprietary chemistry platform that enables cost-effective production of metabolites from bioactive small molecules. Its technology allows assessment of critical metabolite and toxicity issues relatively early in the R&D continuum, aiming to reduce the risk of failure in clinical development of drug candidates. The company is led by President Marc Bazin and is a member of the Biotech InnoVenture Center (BIVC) in Beverly. HepatoChem was founded in 2008 and is based in Beverly, Massachusetts. In April 2012 the company received a $330k loan from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center as part of the MLSC 2012 Accelerator Program. HepatoChem is a Cambridge, MA-based company that provides pharmaceutical and biotech companies access to small-molecule metabolites in quantities needed for drug development. The company has developed a platform that uses biomimetic catalysts to mimic the metabolic function of the liver, developed in collaboration with Professor John Groves at Princeton University. The technology is designed to enable quicker and more cost-effective production of metabolites. HepatoChem is led by founder and CEO Marc Bazin. The company intends to use recently received funds to commercialize its technology. As of the article, HepatoChem received a $100K initial investment from Heartland Bridge Capital, which intends to provide up to $400K of equity capital.

• Paragonix Technologies

  Led · Debt Financing · Jan 2012

  Paragonix Technologies develops and manufactures FDA-cleared and CE-marked organ preservation devices, including the Paragonix SherpaPak®, LUNGguard™ Donor Lung Preservation System, and the LIVERguard™ System. Its devices use first-of-its-kind preservation methods that improve on traditional ice-and-cooler practices and integrate digital tracking and communication technologies. Paragonix complements its hardware with a comprehensive clinical support network and maintains one of the largest clinical registries of organ preservation data worldwide. The company says its products provide unprecedented physical and thermal protection during organ transport and deliver real-time tracking data via a native app. In 2022, over one in five thoracic donor organs transplanted in the U.S. were preserved and transported using a Paragonix device, and SherpaPak is the most commonly utilized device for U.S. heart preservation. The company is focused on expanding commercial reach, extending clinical service offerings, growing inventory, and advancing its transplant innovation pipeline. Paragonix Technologies is a medical device company developing the Sherpa product line for donor organ preservation and transportation. The Sherpa devices are single-use systems intended to provide safe, consistent cold ischemic storage for hearts and kidneys and to be used with current organ preservation solutions. Paragonix has exclusively licensed intellectual property from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio and has established a pipeline of donor organ transport devices. The company is based in Braintree, Massachusetts and was founded in 2010. To date Paragonix has raised $3.4M in equity, debt financing and NIH grants and recently closed a $1.1M convertible debt round. Paragonix has achieved one FDA 510(k) clearance and filed two additional 510(k) submissions as it expands the Sherpa product line and aims to extend donor organ transport nationwide. Paragonix Technologies is a Cambridge, MA–based medical device company founded in 2010 by Dr. Lisa Maier and Tom DeBrooke. The company is commercializing single-use, portable organ preservation and transport devices branded as Sherpas. Its core technology was developed through licensing and collaboration with the South Texas Technology Management Office and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Paragonix began with a Sherpa for kidney transport and is planning to expand the product line to other organs. The company is focused on completing product development and regulatory submissions. It recently received a $710K loan from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center to support those efforts.

• Allurion Technologies

  Led · Debt Financing · Jan 2012

  Allurion Technologies offers the Allurion Smart Capsule, a swallowable, procedure-less gastric balloon designed to support weight loss without surgery. The capsule is marketed internationally alongside the Allurion Virtual Care Suite and other connected health devices that monitor patients throughout their program. In the United States, the Smart Capsule remains investigational; the company has now completed all four FDA PMA modules, passed both manufacturing and bioresearch inspections with zero findings, and finished its Day-100 Meeting without requests for additional human clinical data. To strengthen its balance sheet ahead of a potential U.S. launch, Allurion has arranged to exchange all outstanding Revenue Interest Financing debt for Series B Convertible Preferred Stock, which carries an 8.25% dividend and converts at $3.37 per share. Concurrently, the company raised $5 million through a private placement of common stock and warrants, bolstering working capital for commercialization efforts. When the debt exchange is finalized, the business will become debt-free, supporting its strategic focus on entering the U.S. market upon FDA approval. No revenue, user, or other operating metrics were disclosed in the article.

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