• Confo Therapeutics

  Participated · Series B · Jul 2024

  Confo Therapeutics employs a proprietary discovery platform using conformation-specific ConfoBodies® to stabilize GPCRs in functionally relevant states and discover small molecules and agonistic antibodies. The company is building a pipeline focused on metabolic and endocrine diseases, including programs directed at obesity and severe rare endocrine disorders. Confo plans to advance two wholly owned programs through Phase 1 and bring two additional programs to IND approval, with explicit efforts on molecules targeting GPR75 for obesity. The company emphasizes both small-molecule GPCR modulators and therapeutic antibodies, notably agonistic antibodies. Confo is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. Its current financial position includes the recently closed EUR 60M Series B financing to accelerate its development pipeline. Confo Therapeutics develops ConfoBodyTM single-domain camelid antibodies that selectively stabilize G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) to enable drug discovery. The company is building a portfolio of first-in-class programs based on its Confo® technology. It operates both internal discovery programs and revenue-generating partnerships with pharma on non-competing GPCR targets. Confo Therapeutics has active collaborations with Lundbeck and Roche to apply its platform. The firm plans to use new capital to advance its pipeline of GPCR-modulating compounds toward clinical candidates. The company was co-founded in 2015 as a VUB–VIB spin-off and is based in Ghent, Belgium. Confo Therapeutics is an emerging drug-discovery company based in Ghent, Belgium, that uses its proprietary Confo® technology to discover new GPCR agonist compounds for the treatment of fibrosis. The company operates a Drug Discovery Center in Gent and a Target Discovery Center in Brussels. It is expanding the applicability of its Confo® platform, supported by recent grant awards. Financially, Confo Therapeutics has been awarded non-dilutive funding totaling roughly €2.6 million to support its discovery programs. Part of the funding will be allocated over a two-year VLAIO grant primarily to the Gent Drug Discovery Center, while the Innoviris award will support work at the Brussels Target Discovery Center. The company’s near-term plans, as described in the awards, focus on fibrosis compound discovery and broadening the Confo® technology’s use.

• Ripple Science

  Participated · Equity · Jan 2020

  Ripple Science offers a machine-learning enabled patient engagement platform—Ripple Essentials, Ripple Pro and Ripple Enterprise—that advances patient recruitment and management in clinical research. The suite delivers automation, analytics and insights for research sites, coordinating/call centers, CROs and sponsors, and is HIPAA‑compliant and SOC‑2 certified. Ripple applies data‑driven analytics, machine learning and AI‑enabled algorithms to speed enrollment, reduce dropouts and improve retention and diversity across traditional, remote, decentralized and hybrid trials. The company was spun out of the University of Michigan in 2016 and is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ripple recently secured an additional $1.5 million in growth capital and says it will use findings from a newly formed Industry and Scientific Advisory Board to guide deployment of its platform. The advisory board, chaired by Jeanne Hecht and including Drs. Amir Kalali and Jeff Kingsley, will meet quarterly to identify customer needs, product opportunities and market challenges. Ripple Science offers a HIPAA-compliant SaaS platform that manages participant recruitment and retention across all trial stages and provides real-time analytics to track progress and mitigate risks. The platform centralizes communication and enables researchers to automatically build participant registries that can be shared and leveraged for future trials. Ripple's flagship product is used by research investigators at more than 100 academic and research centers worldwide, including Johns Hopkins University, Pennsylvania State University, UCLA, Brain Research Foundation Canada, University of East Anglia, Cognito Therapeutics and the University of Michigan. Led by President and CEO Peter Falzon, the company plans to use the new funding to scale sales and marketing and expand its commercial reach among private and public clinical research organizations. Ripple completed a $2.5M equity financing round. The company is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

• Fifth Eye

  Participated · Series A · Apr 2019

  Fifth Eye is an Ann Arbor, Michigan medical device software company founded in 2017 and led by CEO Jen Baird. It is developing the Analytic for Hemodynamic Instability, a clinical early warning system that uses a single existing ECG waveform to detect hemodynamic instability and forecast patient trajectory. The browser-based user interface produces a first score in five minutes with no baseline needed, offers minute-to-minute continuous assessment, advance warning and real-time treatment feedback, and presents historical trends without EHR inputs. The company licensed its technology from the University of Michigan and is pursuing FDA clearance for in-hospital use; the Analytic is a work in progress and not yet available for sale. Fifth Eye raised $11.5M in a Series A and intends to use the funds to secure FDA clearance, support clinical studies with multiple health systems, and enable commercial launch.

• Fusion Coolant Systems

  Participated · Series C · Oct 2018

  Fusion Coolant Systems develops and commercializes patented supercritical carbon dioxide cutting fluids for manufacturing. The technology uses CO2 as a cutting fluid to lower manufacturing costs in large sectors such as medical, aerospace, and automotive. The company is based in Canton, Michigan. It plans to use new capital to grow staff, expand operations, and acquire equipment and personnel. The company raised $8M in a Series C financing led by Material Impact and Michigan Capital Advisors, with participation from existing investors MINTS, Amherst Fund and Invest Michigan. Fusion Coolant was founded by Steven Skerlos, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. Fusion Coolant Systems develops patented supercritical carbon dioxide cooling and lubrication technology for metal cutting and forming applications. The company uses recycled CO2 in the form of supercritical carbon dioxide to deliver clean manufacturing solutions that protect worker health and the environment. Fusion is a University of Michigan spinout and is based in Canton, MI. Leadership includes Interim CEO Steve Skerlos and Arthur F. Thurnau, Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Michigan. The company intends to use newly raised funds to grow its engineering and sales teams. No operating metrics were disclosed in the article. Fusion Coolant Systems commercializes CHiP Lube, an advanced patented Carbon Dioxide (CO2) dry coolant and lubrication system for machining and forming metal or plastic parts. The company is a University of Michigan tech transfer startup based in Detroit and is led by CEO Tom Gross. Fusion intends to use its recent funding to build out sales, marketing and product development. The product targets manufacturing customers needing dry coolant and lubrication solutions. The article reports a $600K Series A raise, indicating early-stage commercial and financial progress.

• Akadeum Life Sciences

  Participated · Seed · Oct 2015

  Akadeum Life Sciences pioneers flotation-based cell separation technologies that enable more effective, scalable, and gentle cell isolation. The company commercialized industry-first innovations including scalable negative selection, multiplex separation, microbubble-based nucleic acid extraction, and a high-capacity T cell separation chamber. It recently launched a GMP-compliant product suite designed for use in clinical trials and demonstrated the ability to integrate microbubbles into many existing cell therapy manufacturing tools. Akadeum says its platform has shown therapeutic relevance in preclinical animal models for cancer treatment and is driving adoption through data showing more viable cells, higher yields, and easier workflows versus conventional methods. The company announced a $20M+ financing to scale commercial operations and especially to support customers entering clinical trials. Akadeum has gained industry momentum and engagement from partners and customers including Catalent, Charles River Laboratories, ElevateBio, and Lonza. Akadeum Life Sciences develops a floatation-based, microbubble separation platform (Buoyancy Activated Cell Sorting, BACS™) for sample preparation in research, diagnostics, and cell therapy. Its technology floats target cells, nucleic acids and other biological targets to the top of a sample to enable capture, addressing volume and throughput restrictions of existing methods. The company was the first to commercialize BACS microbubble kits for cell isolation applications. Akadeum positions its solutions as exceeding the performance, system cost, and scalability of current technologies. Future plans stated in the article include advancing global commercialization, developing new business-to-business partnerships, and expanding R&D and new product development. The company is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Akadeum Life Sciences develops technology that enables fast, easy removal of target cells from biological samples. Its product uses BACS™ (buoyancy-activated cell sorting) with tiny floating "microbubbles" and disposable microbubble collectors to acquire target cells. The microbubbles are introduced into samples, attach to target cells such as T cells, B cells, or cancer cells, and gently float them to the top for easy capture and removal. The company was founded in 2014 and is led by CEO Brandon McNaughton and CTO John Younger; it is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Akadeum raised $1M in seed funding and will use the funds to continue product development and increase sales and marketing. The company plans a Series A financing round in 2016.

No current team members are available.