The Venture Codex

Participated · Equity · Apr 2026

ADEL develops therapeutics targeting central nervous system disorders and advances antibody candidates through clinical development. Its notable programs include ADEL-Y01, a tau antibody candidate that was licensed out to Sanofi in a deal valued up to $1.04 billion with an $80 million non-refundable upfront payment. The company is advancing follow-on candidates ADEL-Y04 (ApoE4-targeting antibody) and ADEL-Y03 (β2-microglobulin-targeting antibody) and aims to accelerate their clinical timelines. ADEL intends to strengthen partnerships with domestic and international CNS specialists and further develop proprietary technology platforms. The company cites global business achievements and investor support as validation of its pipeline value. Management plans to complete a KOSDAQ technology special listing within the year and deploy the newly secured funds to deliver early pipeline development results.

Participated · Series A · Dec 2021

Sonic Incytes Medical develops Velacur™, a handheld, point-of-care 3D liver health assessment solution that quantifies liver disease with technology similar to MRI elastography combined with 3D tissue sampling. Velacur is FDA-cleared, non-invasive, delivers results in about five minutes, and was launched in the U.S. market in early 2021. The device is intended to provide consistently accurate, real-time liver diagnostics in a physician’s office as an alternative to biopsy and MRI. Sonic Incytes positions the product as accessible and affordable to enable routine assessment and improved management of chronic liver disease. The company emphasizes reducing fatty liver disease and improving patient care through point-of-care ultrasound diagnostics. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sonic Incytes spun out of the University of British Columbia. Sonic Incytes Medical develops a portable, handheld point-of-care ultrasound solution for assessing and managing chronic liver disease, with a focus on fatty liver disease. The device uses technology similar to MRI elastography and quantifies liver disease using 3D tissue sampling to provide consistently accurate, real-time results. The company says the entire procedure takes about five minutes and offers a quick, safe, and comfortable alternative to biopsy and MRI. Sonic Incytes plans to enter the market at the end of 2020. Financially, it completed a seed financing round of over CDN$3.5 million, including a $1 million investment from Genome BC and over $2.5 million from institutional and angel investors. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Sonic Incytes aims to commercialize its solution to improve diagnosis, treatment and management of liver disease.

Participated · Seed · Nov 2021

Charco Neurotech is an Imperial College spinout co‑founded by Lucy Jung and Floyd Pierres that develops CUE1, a non‑invasive wearable delivering individualized peripheral nerve stimulation to alleviate Parkinson’s motor symptoms. The CUE1 device, worn on the sternum, simultaneously delivers two clinically validated therapies—focused stimulation to promote a ready‑to‑move state and rhythmic “cueing” to help initiate and sustain movements such as walking. Therapy settings are personalized for each patient and the system pairs with an app that tracks symptoms, treatment adherence and quality‑of‑life measures. The company has conducted more than two years of research with patients and clinicians to develop the product. Charco recently raised seed funding to support a first, limited launch and has announced a strategic tech partnership with the European Parkinson’s Disease Association to engage the Parkinson’s community across Europe.

Participated · Series B · Jun 2021

Senda Biosciences is a Cambridge, MA-based company that leverages nature to program targeted, potent, and tunable medicines. Its proprietary programmable medicines platform includes an mRNA engine and an atlas of nature-derived programmable systems at the molecular level across all kingdoms of life. Using that platform, Senda is developing a new class of SendRNA™ medicines intended for infectious, genetic, metabolic, and autoimmune diseases, as well as oncology, and to advance mRNA therapeutics, vaccines, gene-editing, and protein-based therapies. The company says it programs human cells both from within and from outside to create targeted and tunable therapeutic effects. Led by CEO Guillaume Pfefer, Senda plans to use recent funding to drive further development of its platform and advance its first programs into clinical testing. The company positions its technology as accessing the full code provided by nature required to program cells. Senda Biosciences, based in Cambridge, Mass., develops medicines by harnessing molecular interactions that have evolved between humans, plants, and bacteria. Its platform enables deployment of proteins or genetic material throughout the body, tunable modulation of the immune system, and precise intervention at the point of interaction between human and non-human species. The company is led by CEO Guillaume Pfefer, Ph.D., and CSO Scott Plevy, M.D. Proceeds from the financing will be used to advance the development of the company’s platform and its therapeutic programs into clinical trials. Senda raised a $55M Series B extension, bringing total Series B funding to $98M and total funding raised to date to $143M. Flagship Pioneering, Senda’s founder, participated in the round alongside new and existing investors. Senda Biosciences combines microbiome science, computational biology, environmental genomics and AI to develop new therapeutics that act in the gastrointestinal tract with minimal systemic exposure. The company launched with $88 million in funding from Flagship Pioneering and is a 50‑person startup. Senda is the product of a merger that includes Kintai Therapeutics and three other Flagship ventures; Kintai had launched with about 60 employees and was working on ulcerative colitis and metabolic syndrome programs. Leadership includes CEO Guillaume Pfefer, a former GlaxoSmithKline executive, and CSO Scott Plevy, formerly of Synlogic and Janssen. Senda expects to ask the FDA to begin six clinical trials by the end of 2022 targeting multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, chronic kidney disease, obesity and cancer. Company executives say their medicines are designed not to be uptaken, enabling disease modification or prevention with zero systemic exposure, and they aim for greater precision than many current microbiome approaches.