Led · Equity · Apr 2018

Zikani Therapeutics leverages its proprietary TURBO-ZMTM chemistry platform to develop novel Ribosome Modulating Agents (RMAs) aimed at treating rare diseases caused by nonsense mutations. The platform enables rapid synthesis and optimization of RMAs to target the human ribosome in a disease-specific manner. Zikani has reported positive pre-clinical data across multiple indications, including APC mutant colon cancer, familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP), class 1 cystic fibrosis, and recessive dystrophic and junctional epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB and JEB). The company is advancing its nonsense mutation readthrough programs from lead optimization to candidate selection and is moving into pre-clinical development. Management says the financing will be used to advance those programs and to pursue partnerships that leverage the TURBO-ZMTM platform. Zikani positions itself to transition from early-stage to clinical-stage research as it progresses selected programs. Macrolide Pharmaceuticals develops next-generation macrolide antibiotics engineered to have first-in-class Gram-negative activity against multi-drug resistant bacterial infections. The company uses a fully synthetic technology platform licensed from Harvard University that enables creation of new macrolides from basic chemical building blocks, broadening the class from traditional Gram-positive to include MDR Gram-negative pathogens. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Watertown, Massachusetts, Macrolide's lead program targets serious infections caused by resistant Gram-negative pathogens. The company recently completed a $20 million investor financing and also received a previously announced CARB-X award to accelerate development. Proceeds will support advancing novel IV and oral macrolide candidates, including work to support filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for its lead program. The company also announced Mahesh Karande as President and CEO to lead clinical and business development efforts. Macrolide Pharmaceuticals develops novel macrolide antibiotics using a proprietary total-synthesis chemistry platform invented by Prof. Andrew Myers at Harvard. The platform enables synthesis of a broad range of macrolides and has produced initial compounds with promising antibacterial activity. The company aims to extend the macrolide class’ spectrum, targeting both Gram-negative infections with limited treatment options and Gram-positive organisms. Proceeds from the recent financing will be used to expand the proprietary drug discovery platform and accelerate development of a pipeline of antibiotic candidates. Macrolide holds exclusive rights to the technology via a worldwide license from Harvard’s Office of Technology Development. The company is based in Newton, Mass., and was founded by Prof. Myers and Dr. Lawrence Miller.

Participated · Seed · Mar 2015

mySugr, founded in 2012 and led by CEO Frank Westermann, creates digital health solutions for people with diabetes that combine design, technology and medical expertise. Its flagship product, the mySugr Logbook app, has more than 200,000 registered users across the US and Europe. The company also operates mySugr Academy, a diabetes education platform. In 2015 the company raised $4.8M in funding. Backers included Roche Ventures (Basel) and iSeed Ventures (San Francisco & Beijing). mySugr intends to use the funds to support international growth. mySugr builds gamified mobile apps to help people manage diabetes by combining logging, therapy feedback and social gaming. Its flagship Companion app functions as a diabetes journal with immediate therapy feedback and a points-based incentive layer; Companion Pro is offered as a one-time $19.99 upgrade. The company also offers Junior (a logbook for children) and Quiz (a knowledge app), and reports roughly 110,000 users; its app is available in 50 countries and eight languages. mySugr holds a CE Mark for a class 1 medical device, is FDA‑approved/registered in the US, and is approved by Health Canada and Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration; it is ISO 13485‑certified. The team is about 20 people (half of whom have diabetes) and maintains offices in Vienna and San Francisco. The startup plans to expand into Arab‑speaking markets and to continue product development at the intersection of healthcare and apps.

Participated · Equity · Nov 2012

Ambit Biosciences is a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company focused on developing small-molecule kinase inhibitors for cancer and inflammatory diseases. Its lead candidate is quizartinib (AC220), an oral FLT3 inhibitor currently in clinical trials for relapsed/refractory and treatment‑naive AML. Quizartinib is being developed in collaboration with Astellas Pharma under a worldwide agreement to jointly develop and commercialize FLT3 kinase inhibitors. Ambit's clinical pipeline also includes AC430, an oral JAK2 inhibitor, and CEP-32496, a BRAF inhibitor licensed to Teva, and its preclinical portfolio includes a proprietary CSF1R inhibitor. The company plans to use proceeds from a new $50M financing (the first $25M tranche has closed) to continue advancing quizartinib. Michael Martino serves as President and CEO. Ambit Biosciences focuses on discovery and development of small-molecule kinase inhibitors, with a clinical pipeline that includes AC220, AC430, and AC480 and preclinical candidates such as CEP-32496. Its lead candidate, AC220, is a potent, selective, orally bioavailable FLT3 inhibitor being developed in collaboration with Astellas Pharma and is in a Phase 2 pivotal trial for relapsed/refractory AML with FLT3 ITD mutations. AC430 is an oral JAK2 inhibitor and AC480 is a pan-HER inhibitor, both in Phase 1 trials. The company also has partnered or licensed assets (CEP-32496 licensed to Cephalon) and describes an approach to optimizing and selecting potential new drugs. Ambit is privately held and raised new capital in this financing to continue clinical development across its clinical assets. The company announced that the financing provided sufficient funding to pursue its strategy and enabled it to withdraw plans for an initial public offering. Ambit Biosciences is a San Diego–based developer of small‑molecule profiling tools used in biopharmaceutical development. The company reported an ongoing debt financing and has disclosed $6.5M raised to date in that round. According to the firm's filing it is raising up to $19.7M in debt, including warrants. Details on the debt financing (investor identities and specific terms) were not released in the filing. Ambit has previously raised over $105M in venture funding. Historical investors named in filings include Apposite Capital, MedImmune, OrbiMed, Radius Ventures, NovaQuest, Horizon Technology Finance, Avalon Ventures, Perseus‑Soros Biopharmaceutical Fund, Forward Ventures, Roche Venture Fund, Lumira Capital, GIMV, Genechem Management, and Bristol‑Myers Squibb. Ambit Biosciences is a San Diego-based biotechnology company focused on developing small-molecule kinase inhibitors for the treatment of cancer. Its core product strategy centers on advancing small-molecule kinase inhibitor candidates through development. The company announced a $49.3M Series D equity financing to help advance its product pipeline. The financing syndicate includes strategic life-science investors and venture funds. Ambit intends to apply the proceeds toward progressing its pipeline candidates and clinical efforts. The article does not disclose operating metrics such as revenue or user figures.