Led · Equity · Feb 2024

Blacksmith Medicines focuses on discovering and developing novel small-molecule medicines that target metalloenzymes involved in antibiotic resistance, with its lead program aimed at treating urinary tract infections caused by multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria. The company’s current priority is advancing this lead compound into Phase 1 clinical trials. To finance these studies, Blacksmith just secured an initial $3.3 million non-dilutive award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). The award is part of a broader NIH contract that could total up to $17.2 million over five years, providing runway through early-stage clinical development. Previous equity backers of the company include Lilly, Evotec A.G., MP Healthcare Partners, MagnaSci Ventures, and Alexandria Venture Investments, underscoring industry support for its metallobiology platform. While revenue has not yet been reported, the new NIH funding materially strengthens the balance sheet and reduces near-term financing risk. Looking ahead, Blacksmith intends to leverage its proprietary chemistry platform to expand its pipeline of anti-infective candidates targeting urgent public-health threats.

Led · Grant · Jun 2022

Phase Genomics develops proximity ligation technology and the ProxiMeta-powered global phage atlas to enable chromosome-scale genome assembly, microbiome discovery, and analysis of genomic variation. The company provides laboratory and computational products and services, including sample kits and metagenome assembly and analysis software. Its phage interactome atlas contains hundreds of thousands of host-resolved phage genomes and is being used to discover lysin-based antimicrobial candidates. With $1.5M in new funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Phase Genomics is building a platform to develop lysins that target Campylobacter infections and methanogenic archaea in ruminants to help reduce methane emissions. The year-long project includes a collaboration with Lumen Bioscience to assess lysin bioactivity in a scalable microbial expression system. Founded in 2015 and based in Seattle, the company aims to translate its phage database into targeted therapeutics to address antibiotic resistance and environmental biothreats. Phase Genomics develops proximity ligation–based genomic tools and software (including the ProxiMeta platform and Hi-C kits) to enable chromosome-scale assemblies and metagenomic deconvolution. Its proprietary technology captures virus–host interactions directly within microbial communities without culturing, producing a large phage–bacteria interactome repository. The company offers laboratory services and computational analysis to accelerate discovery of phages and link mobile genetic elements to hosts. With new funding it intends to build an AI-driven predictive engine to identify therapeutic phages and to assemble a global phage atlas. Planned downstream uses include phage-based therapies for C. difficile, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease, as well as improved wastewater monitoring for resistant pathogens. A recent Nature Biotechnology study using ProxiMeta demonstrated identification of hundreds of novel phage–host associations in a single sample, underscoring the platform’s discovery power. Phase Genomics develops proximity-ligation (Hi-C) laboratory kits, services, and computational software to enable chromosome-scale genome assembly, metagenomic deconvolution, and analysis of structural genomic variation. The company offers a portfolio of laboratory and computational products as well as scientific services and industry-leading assembly and analysis software. It is adapting high-throughput proximity ligation to cytogenomics to detect large chromosomal rearrangements and improve diagnostics in fertility, cancer, and genetic disorders. Phase Genomics received two three-year NIH FastTrack SBIR grants to develop proximity-ligation-based karyotyping methods for diverse human samples. Management says the company aims to commercialize these methods into diagnostic applications for the growing cytogenetics market (estimated at $3.8B by 2025). The business is funded by grant awards and revenue from sales of its kits, services, and computational analysis. Phase Genomics spun out of the University of Washington’s Genome Sciences department and launched in 2015. The company combines a proprietary wet‑lab technique with a cloud‑based data analysis engine to link DNA fragments that were physically close in cells, enabling assembly of complete genomes from mixed samples. Its tools have been used on plants, birds, mammals (their first complete genome was a goat) and numerous bacteria, and the company reports three products and services already on the market with more planned. The sample‑to‑results workflow takes roughly a week. Phase Genomics says it bootstrapped into a revenue‑generating company before taking outside funding and is currently hiring to scale operations. It plans to remain on the UW campus in CoMotion Labs’ Fluke Hall.

Led · Grant · Apr 2022

ILiAD Biotechnologies is focused on eradicating whooping cough by advancing BPZE1, its next-generation live-attenuated intranasal pertussis vaccine. BPZE1 is designed to induce both systemic and mucosal immunity, offering durable protection that current acellular vaccines fail to provide. Across six completed clinical studies, including a human challenge trial published in The Lancet Microbe, the vaccine has shown promising safety and immunogenicity data. The company plans to initiate a pivotal Phase 3 human challenge study in 2026, with initial results expected in 2027, and it ultimately intends to expand indications to neonates. Proceeds from its recent financing will fund Phase 3 development and associated manufacturing and regulatory activities. ILiAD collaborates with leading scientists and leverages proprietary technologies to overcome the limitations of existing pertussis vaccines. The company highlights the global need for better solutions, noting that pertussis still affects about 24 million people annually and causes nearly 160,000 deaths in children under five despite 84 % vaccination coverage worldwide.

Led · Grant · Dec 2011

Profectus BioSciences develops vaccines and antibody therapeutics, including an antibody candidate m102.4 intended as a post-exposure prophylactic against Nipah and Hendra viruses. The company received a $5.4M grant to support preclinical development of m102.4. Profectus is collaborating with Dr. Christopher Broder (USU) and Dr. Thomas Geisbert (Galveston National Laboratory, University of Texas Medical Branch) on the program. It is partnering with Catalent Pharma Solutions to use GPEx® technology to produce high-yield mammalian cell lines for cGMP production of m102.4. The company’s pipeline and focus include chronic viral diseases such as HCV, HPV, HSV-2, HIV, as well as malaria, Ebola and Marburg viruses. Profectus was established in 2003 and is based in Baltimore, MD. Profectus Biosciences is a technology-based vaccine company devoted to the treatment and prevention of chronic viral diseases, aiming to reduce morbidity and mortality. Its proof-of-concept target is human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), with an intermediate-term focus on hepatitis C virus (HCV). The company advances vaccine technologies for patients suffering from chronic viral infections. The firm's founding mission reflects a "bench-top-to-bedside" approach driven by co-founders Drs. Gallo, Blattner, and Redfield. In 1996 the founders were recruited to the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute to create the Institute of Human Virology. Per SEC filings, the company completed a $6.79 million offering from a single investor.

Led · Grant · Mar 2010

Kineta, Inc. is a Seattle, WA-based clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing novel immunotherapies in oncology and neuroscience. Led by Shawn Iadonato, PhD, its lead program is KVA12.1, an anti‑VISTA antibody in development for the treatment of solid tumors. Proceeds from the $10M financing will advance KVA12.1 toward an IND filing with the US FDA in 2022. Preclinical studies cited by the company show single‑agent anti‑VISTA activity and improved efficacy in combination with PD‑1, PD‑L1 or CTLA‑4 inhibitors through reprogramming suppressive myeloid cells and enhancing T cell effector function. The company is eligible to receive up to $25M in additional financing prior to the end of 2021 to further advance its pipeline. An investor representative from Cheongbo Industrial Co., Ltd. will be appointed to Kineta’s board, and Kineta executives will join the Cheongbo board. Kineta, Inc. is a clinical-stage biotechnology company headquartered in Seattle focused on developing novel immunotherapies in oncology, neuroscience and biodefense and advancing antiviral candidates. Its lead program, LHF-535, is described as a first-in-class antiviral with potent activity against Lassa fever and other arenaviruses that inhibits viral entry and suppresses replication. The company reported positive Phase 1a clinical study results in healthy volunteers. The recent funding is intended to support a Phase 1b multiple ascending dose (MAD) clinical trial. Kineta aims to position LHF-535 for Phase 2 evaluation in Lassa fever patients, an area with no approved treatments. The company is led by CEO Shawn Iadonato. Kineta is a Seattle, WA-based biotechnology company. Led by Founder and CEO Charles Magness, PhD, it maintains a five-compound pipeline with its lead program, ShK-186, currently in a Phase 1B clinical trial for psoriatic arthritis. The company is the major subcontractor on a University of Washington project that received an NIH grant of up to $11.6M to develop novel vaccine adjuvants. Kineta received an investment from angelMD and its physician-led investor network; the amount and the instrument were not disclosed in reporting. The article does not provide operating metrics such as revenue or headcount. Kineta is a Seattle-based, privately held biotechnology company focused on clinical advancement of novel immunotherapeutic and antiviral drug candidates. Its lead programs cited in the article are ShK-186, an immune-sparing targeted therapeutic for autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis and lupus nephritis, and rOAS, a pan-viral host-directed antiviral targeting influenza, West Nile virus, Dengue and other pathogens. The company also has a separate program profiled for non‑narcotic severe pain relief. Kineta’s business model emphasizes targeting unmet medical needs and rapid achievement of clinical milestones. RLB Holdings has provided multiple investments to accelerate Kineta’s clinical development and to fund manufacturing for an upcoming rOAS clinical trial. Since its launch in 2008, Kineta has raised more than $40 million. Kineta is advancing ShK-186, a first-in-class biologic that selectively targets effector memory T-cells to treat type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases. Animal studies reported efficacy without causing generalized immunosuppression. The company is collaborating with K. George Chandy, M.D., Ph.D., and Jonathan Lakey, Ph.D., of UC Irvine on development protocols. Kineta announced second-year funding from The Iacocca Family Foundation to accelerate preclinical work on ShK-186. Kineta plans first-in-human trials scheduled for late 2011. The company is a privately held Seattle-based firm focused on rapid achievement of clinical milestones for immunotherapeutics.