Participated · Seed · Apr 2022

Mindgram operates an online platform and app that provides comprehensive employee mental-health and wellbeing services, from diagnosis and prevention to workshops, trainings, podcasts, chat consultations and full online psychotherapeutic care. Its clients are organizations seeking to improve workforce wellbeing and meet emerging regulatory and ESG reporting requirements. The company was founded in 2020 by Małgorzata Ohme, Jakub Zieliński and Adam Plona. Mindgram is pursuing international expansion and aims to serve over 70 markets in 37 languages; the platform is currently available in Polish, English and Spanish, with German, French, Danish, Portuguese and Italian to be added in March and some 30 further languages (including Ukrainian, Arabic and Chinese) planned by year-end. Financially, Mindgram recently secured roughly 11 mln zł in new financing and previously raised €7m in 2022. The company plans to leverage AI and machine-learning tools in global rollouts and will receive strategic support from investors on enterprise compliance and corporate-technology integration. Mindgram describes itself as the first European science-based platform and mobile app for complete mental wellness, offering a B2B monthly subscription for employers. The service provides tailored psychological care across positive psychology, systemic psychotherapy, neuroscience, lifestyle medicine, and cognitive behavioral therapy, plus workshops led by therapists, trainers, and coaches (mindfulness, relaxation, meditation, therapeutic programmes). The company raised a €7 million seed round to further develop the platform and to fund international expansion, beginning in Spain and Portugal and later targeting other LATAM markets. To date Mindgram has raised a total of €8.8 million. Co-founder Jakub Zieliński framed employee well-being as a fundamental pillar and “the new KPI of performance,” emphasizing prevention to fight anxiety, reduce turnover, and boost productivity. Credo Ventures highlighted that the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine have accelerated public awareness of workplace mental-health needs and praised Mindgram’s pace, execution, and customer traction. Mindgram offers a monthly subscription platform and mobile app providing tailored psychological care for employees, covering positive psychology, systemic psychotherapy, neuroscience, lifestyle medicine, and cognitive behavioral therapy. The service also includes workshops led by therapists, trainers, and coaches in mindfulness, relaxation, meditation, and therapeutic programs. Mindgram positions itself as a European, science-based complete mental wellness solution aimed at shifting employee benefits toward mental health and wellbeing. The company targets employers seeking to address COVID-19-related drops in productivity and reduce absenteeism and presenteeism. It reports that 10 companies in the Polish market have already implemented Mindgram. The firm cites WHO findings on the economic return of investing in scaled treatment for common mental disorders. Co-founder Małgorzata Ohme is quoted on expected increases in commitment and job satisfaction from customers.

Participated · Series B · Oct 2020

Talaris’s lead candidate, FCR001, is a facilitated allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation product made by a proprietary process that optimizes key immune and stem cell subsets. FCR001 is being evaluated in an open-label Phase 3 study enrolling 120 first-time kidney transplant patients receiving organs from living donors, with the therapy administered one day after transplant and an update expected in Q4. The company describes FCR001 as a "pipeline in a product," and is also pursuing Phase 2 studies of a delayed-tolerance approach in patients who have already received kidney transplants and a separate Phase 2 study in scleroderma, both planned to begin in the second half of the year. Talaris is conducting preclinical research to assess whether similar donor cells can be procured from deceased donors to enable use in the far larger deceased-donor transplant population. The company was founded in 2002 (originally Regenerex) and previously partnered with Novartis from 2013–2016; through the end of last year it had raised $186.2 million, including a $115 million Series B announced last October. After its IPO proceeds allocation, Talaris says its cash should support operations at least until 2025. Talaris Therapeutics is a privately held, late-clinical-stage biotechnology company developing transformative cell therapies intended to induce durable immune tolerance across multiple indications. Its lead candidate, FCR001, is being evaluated in a pivotal Phase 3 trial in first-time living donor kidney transplant recipients and is now enrolling at U.S. sites. The company has laid the groundwork for two additional Phase 2 studies, including a planned trial in diffuse systemic sclerosis (SSc) and a future trial in individuals who previously received a living donor kidney transplant. Over the past 18 months Talaris reports dramatic progress, having expanded its team and bolstered wholly in-house cell processing capabilities. Talaris maintains corporate offices in Boston and a cell processing facility in Louisville, Ky. The recent financing will support advancement of its immune tolerance programs through key clinical milestones in organ transplant and autoimmune disease. Talaris Therapeutics develops a proprietary, one‑time allogeneic cell therapy, FCR001, intended to induce or restore durable immune tolerance in organ transplant recipients and certain immune‑mediated disorders. FCR001 was patented and incubated at the University of Louisville and has received Orphan Drug and RMAT designations from the FDA. In Phase 2, 70% of living donor kidney transplant (LDKT) patients who received FCR001 were able to safely and durably discontinue immunosuppressive therapy. The company will use the $100 million Series A financing to advance FCR001 into later‑stage clinical development, including a Phase 3 registration trial in LDKT and additional Phase 2 studies in other high‑need indications. Talaris also plans to expand its in‑house cell processing capabilities to support these development programs and early commercial launch needs. The company operates a cell processing facility in Louisville, KY and maintains corporate offices in Boston, MA and Louisville, KY.

Participated · Series C · Dec 2016

Vapogenix is a clinical-stage Houston-based company developing topical formulations of volatile anesthetics (VAs) as non-opioid, lidocaine-free analgesics. Its lead program is VPX638 (sevoflurane), part of a platform of patented VA formulations for localized treatment of painful conditions. The company reported successful Phase I SBIR studies with Texas Heart Institute showing analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, and a Phase 2 clinical trial last year demonstrated rapid onset, sustained pain relief, and reduced opioid use for wounds. Vapogenix holds a global intellectual property portfolio with 43 issued or allowed patents. The Phase II SBIR award will fund formulation development and characterization of anti-inflammatory and analgesic profiles in animal disease models to support an IND. Vapogenix is seeking additional funding and partners to advance clinical development and commercialization. Vapogenix develops a locally-acting, topical non-opioid analgesic based on volatile anesthetics, formulated into gels and liquids. The company intends to treat painful conditions including wounds, combat-related injuries, osteoarthritis, and muscular and inflammatory conditions. Vapogenix raised $8.2M in funding to advance its program. The proceeds are planned to begin a Phase 2 Proof-of-Concept study for Project AWARD (A Wound Analgesic with RapiD action) in 2017. Investors in the round included Pamoja Capital, prominent pain physicians and others. The company is led by CEO and Co-Founder Danguole Altman and Co-Founder and Scientific Advisory Board Chairman Allen Burton, MD. Vapogenix is developing a rapidly acting topical analgesic designed to penetrate skin within minutes. The company reformulates liquid anesthetics—typically vaporized inhalants used during surgery—into topical patches or liquids. Its lead program has progressed to Phase II trials, while products for wound and inflammatory pain remain at earlier stages. Vapogenix filed an IND with the FDA this week to advance clinical testing. Financially, regulatory filings disclose $2.1M in a recent financing; the company says it has raised $3M from high-net-worth individuals in a Series B set to close July 31, and holds a $2M grant from the Texas Emerging Technology Fund. Management says these funds are helping the company "come out of the Valley of Death."