Participated · Equity · Nov 2020

Kira Pharmaceuticals is developing a new generation of complement-targeted therapies to treat immune-mediated and complement-driven diseases. Its efforts are enabled by the LOGIC drug discovery platform. The company is committed to advancing first-in-class and best-in-class therapies to transform patients' lives. Kira announced $46M in investments secured to date. It is backed by a syndicate of global life science venture firms including Quan Capital, 6 Dimensions Capital, Qiming Venture Partners, and Sinopharm Capital. Frederick Beddingfield, MD, PhD, was appointed Chief Executive Officer.

Participated · Series A · Dec 2018

GenFleet Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Shanghai focused on developing cutting-edge therapies in oncology and immunology. The company has a proprietary R&D and discovery platform and is developing both small molecules and biologics. Its diversified pipeline includes over 10 products, many of which have progressed into clinical stages. GenFleet is expanding clinical trials in China, the United States and Australia and expects more programs to move into late-stage clinical development in 2022. Management says proceeds will support global development of clinical-stage programs, build a broader portfolio of innovative programs, and accelerate commercialization over the coming years. GenFleet Therapeutics develops new drug candidates and is stepping into global multi-center clinical trials. The company announced a Series B+ financing in the hundreds of millions of RMB to speed development of its existing products and the conduct of its clinical trials. It plans to create an international cutting‑edge R&D system and open its industrial layout in parallel. Proceeds will be used to continually complete milestones of its "global new" drug development. The financing marks a new development stage focused on accelerating clinical programs and building international capabilities. DeHeng Law Offices acted as legal counsel on the transaction. GenFleet Therapeutics develops small-molecule therapeutics for immuno-oncology. The company’s first product entered IND application stage just over one year after the program was launched. Proceeds from its latest financing are intended to advance the IND application and subsequent clinical development of that program. GenFleet says it is executing projects rapidly and expanding its pipeline and business functions. Leadership has stated the company aims to become a pioneer in immuno-oncology and to build an innovative, balanced product portfolio to address unmet needs. The company is based in Shanghai, China.

Led · Series A · May 2018

Ansun Biopharma is a Chinese biotechnology company. It announced completion of a 56 million yuan (about $80 million) Series B financing. The round was led by a cohort of venture capital firms including Oceanpine Capital, Junson Capital Company Limited and KIP. The article does not describe the company's specific products, pipeline, or therapeutic focus. It also does not disclose use of proceeds or operating metrics such as revenue or user counts. No founding year or past funding rounds are mentioned in the article. Ansun BioPharma is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing DAS181, a potentially first‑in‑class broad‑spectrum antiviral biologic for respiratory viral infections including influenza, parainfluenza, and metapneumovirus. The company is advancing DAS181 through clinical development and is working with the U.S. FDA to plan and implement a Phase 3 trial of DAS181 for parainfluenza infection in hospitalized and immunocompromised patients. DAS181 has received Breakthrough Designation and Fast Track designation from the U.S. FDA for this indication. Ansun intends to use the proceeds from its recent financing to support the planned Phase 3 clinical trial. The company is led by interim CEO Dr. Nancy Chang. Ansun is based in San Diego, CA.

Led · Series B · Dec 2017

Virtual Incision is developing MIRA, a compact, drape- and dock-free miniaturized robotic-assisted surgery system designed to deliver internal triangulation and full wrist articulation inside the body. The device is lightweight and portable so it can be used in any operating room without a dedicated mainframe room. MIRA is an investigational device; the company completed an IDE clinical study for bowel resection and has a De Novo request under substantive FDA review. Virtual Incision holds over two hundred patents and patent applications and is focused on expanding access to RAS in routine and high-volume procedures, including outpatient and ambulatory settings. The company plans a limited launch of MIRA across select U.S. centers if marketing authorization is granted and will run a gynecologic clinical study planned for 2024. It is also developing a smaller minibot iteration with a first-in-human clinical study expected next year and will support a NASA–University of Nebraska–Lincoln collaboration to demonstrate telesurgery on the ISS. Virtual Incision is developing the MIRA (“miniaturized in vivo robotic assistant”) Surgical Platform, a small self-contained device inserted through a single midline umbilical incision to support multi-quadrant abdominal laparoscopic procedures. The technology is designed to work with existing minimally invasive tools and techniques, avoid the need for a dedicated operating room or specialized infrastructure, and to be significantly less expensive than existing robotic systems. The company recently reported the world’s first surgery using MIRA—a robotically assisted right hemicolectomy—performed under an FDA Investigational Device Exemption as part of a clinical study at a limited number of U.S. hospitals. Virtual Incision is developing a family of mini-robots for additional procedures including hernia repair, gallbladder removal, hysterectomy, and sleeve gastrectomy. The company holds foundational intellectual property with more than 200 patents and applications. Virtual Incision is headquartered in Lincoln, Neb., and recently raised financing to advance its regulatory, clinical, commercialization, and R&D programs. Virtual Incision develops the MIRA (“miniaturized in vivo robotic assistant”), a two-pound robotic platform for minimally invasive abdominal surgery. The company emphasizes MIRA’s portability and affordability compared with many existing, much larger surgical robots. VIC positions the device to expand access to minimally invasive procedures and improve patient outcomes. CEO John Murphy said the company believes the portable and affordable abdominal robot can bring these benefits to many more patients. The company plans an IDE clinical study with the FDA as the critical next step and will use recent funding to ready the device for commercialization. The latest financing brings the company’s total funding to $51 million. Virtual Incision is developing a small, self-contained robotically assisted surgical device (RASD) designed to be inserted through an umbilical incision to perform multi-quadrant abdominal procedures. The platform leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to track and guide instrument usage and includes the company’s robotic flex tip laparoscope controlled by the surgeon. The company emphasizes compatibility with existing surgical tools and techniques and a design that does not require a dedicated operating room or specialized infrastructure. Virtual Incision says its technology has foundational intellectual property including over 140 patents and applications and was used outside the U.S. in 2016 in a safety and feasibility colon resection trial. The company is a University of Nebraska spinout based in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Pleasanton, California, and its devices are investigational and not commercially available. Virtual Incision recently raised an $18 million Series B to support development toward FDA 510(k) submission and near-term milestones including FDA clearance, U.S. team building, a surgeon training center at UNMC, and a China joint venture. Virtual Incision develops a first-of-its-kind miniaturized robotically assisted surgical device designed to be inserted in its entirety through a single abdominal incision to enable minimally invasive general surgery. The platform is designed to utilize existing tools and surgeon techniques, avoid dedicated operating-room infrastructure, and be significantly smaller and less expensive than current mainframe robotic systems. The company says the system could enable minimally invasive approaches to procedures that are typically performed open today, with potential to improve clinical outcomes and health-care costs. Its investigational device is supported by more than 90 pending and granted patents and 70 comparative medicine studies, and the technology is a spinout of the University of Nebraska. Virtual Incision plans to use the recently closed $11.2 million equity financing to fund a feasibility study of the robot for colon resection procedures. The device is not commercially available; the company is based in Lincoln, Neb. and Pleasanton, Calif.

Participated · Series B · Nov 2017

Semma Therapeutics develops stem cell-derived, insulin-producing beta cells combined with a protective delivery device aimed at providing a functional cure for insulin-dependent diabetes. The company’s proprietary processes generate billions of functional SC-beta cells that in preclinical studies were comparable to human islet beta cells and effectively controlled diabetes. Semma’s state-of-the-art cell delivery technology is designed to protect SC-beta cells from the patient’s immune system and to be surgically practical. The company plans to use proceeds from its recent financing to bring its lead encapsulated stem cell-derived islet program through clinical proof-of-concept and to explore additional regenerative medicine therapeutics. Semma was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, with operations in Providence, RI. The company has strategic partnerships and investor relationships with Novartis, Medtronic and the JDRF T1D Fund. Semma Therapeutics is developing Stem Cell-derived Islet (SC-Islet) therapy to treat patients with type 1 diabetes who currently depend on insulin. Its core approach pairs proprietary SC-Islets with a cell delivery and immune protection strategy intended to shield transplanted cells from the patient’s immune system. The goal is to enable the beta cells to function as they do in non-diabetic individuals. The company is led by CEO Robert Millman and was founded in 2014. Semma is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Financially, the company has support from strategic and venture investors and recently received an additional undisclosed investment. Semma Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company developing cellular therapy for diabetes by generating stem-cell derived pancreatic islets (SC-islets). The company uses technology developed in Douglas Melton’s Harvard lab, which has been licensed to Semma, to create large supplies of insulin-producing islet cells from pluripotent stem cells. Semma’s program aims to derive pluripotent stem cells from a patient’s blood or skin, differentiate them into SC-islets, and transplant them back to circumvent allogeneic immune rejection and lifelong immunosuppression. Clinical evaluation and patient selection will be performed at UCLA, pluripotent stem-cell derivation and analysis at Cedars-Sinai, and manufacturing for Phase 1/2 clinical trials at City of Hope. Semma accepted a $5 million grant from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to fund development of this personalized cell therapy. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is also working to combine its proprietary cells with a device to provide an islet replacement without immunosuppression. Semma Therapeutics is developing a cell-based therapy for Type 1 diabetes that uses lab-grown, glucose-responsive human pancreatic beta cells. The company is commercializing a procedure reported by Doug Melton's lab in Cell that can generate large numbers of functional insulin-producing beta cells. Semma has an exclusive license to this breakthrough technology from Harvard and is focused on combining the proprietary cells with a device to provide beta cell replacement without immunosuppression. The company aims to bring this therapeutic option to the clinic to reduce or eliminate patients' reliance on daily insulin injections. Semma recently closed a $44 million Series A (equity and strategic funding) and signed an agreement with Novartis to advance the program through clinical proof-of-concept. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, MA, and Robert Millman is joining as CEO.