Participated · Series A · Aug 2024

Melodi Health raised $10.75M in a Series A financing from HM Venture Partners, Engage Venture Partners, Southeast Minnesota Capital Fund and Three Bridges Private Capital. The company intends to use the funds to further enhance its clinical activities and additional product development activities. Its flagship offering, the Melodi Matrix, is a bioabsorbable mesh that elutes antibiotic agents and is fully absorbed by the body. Melodi announced the launch of the ARIA investigational device exemption (IDE) trial, a multicenter, nationwide, randomized, controlled study evaluating the safety and efficacy of the Melodi Matrix to support an FDA approval for an indication in breast reconstruction. The Melodi Matrix technology was licensed from Medtronic. The company is led by CEO Sarah Worrell and chief medical officer Hunter Moyer, MD, and is based in Minneapolis, MN.

Participated · Seed · Jan 2024

Odonata Health is developing a proprietary, textile-based wearable garment embedded with flexible, waterproof sensors to capture maternal and fetal biometric data, including fetal heart rate and rhythm. Signal interpretation relies on proprietary AI algorithms and deep neural networks developed initially in partnership with researchers and clinicians at the Mayo Clinic. The company aims to provide clinicians with early, non-invasive indicators of fetal distress to enable timely intervention and reduce costly hospitalizations. Proceeds from its seed financing are intended to support company formation, product development, clinical validation and regulatory submission efforts. Odonata emphasizes improving access in traditionally under-served communities and is focused on maternal morbidity and mortality reduction. Its products are not yet cleared by the U.S. FDA. Marani Health offers a digital prenatal and postpartum care platform that combines the M•other consumer mobile app with a clinical care web portal to enable two-way communication and data sharing between pregnant mothers and care teams. The M•other app includes educational resources, pregnancy tracking tools, and access to the full Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy. The company plans to develop and launch its AI-driven prenatal and postpartum care platform using personalized insights to inform and reduce the cost of care. Marani raised $7.6M in Seed funding to support that development and launch. Backers include OneAlphaNorth Capital and existing investors SWL Healthcare Ventures and TFX Capital. Ann Holder is the founder and CEO, and OneAlphaNorth Managing Director Brady Lipp joined Marani’s board as part of the financing. Marani Health (formerly Odonata Health) develops an AI-powered platform for remote pregnancy care that includes a proprietary sensing device. The company was co-founded with involvement from the Mayo Clinic and aims to improve access to care and outcomes for mothers and babies. Its platform is positioned for use in both telehealth settings and clinics to provide clinicians with more pregnancy-specific data. Marani is advancing toward clinical testing and future market introduction. The company has seen heightened demand for telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, which it cites as driving interest in its solution. Leadership changes include the appointment of health care veteran Jodi Hubler to the board.

Participated · Series B · May 2022

Vyriad engineers viruses, viral vectors, and envelope glycoproteins to deliver therapeutic genes directly to selected cells, eliminating the need for complex ex vivo manufacturing. Its proprietary lentiviral platform employs engineered G proteins to create highly specific, blood-stable vectors that can reprogram immune cells in the body, enabling scalable access to CAR-T therapies. Lead candidate VV169 combines an optimized lentiviral vector (LV-169) with a BCMA-directed CAR transgene and is slated to enter first-in-human Phase 1 testing in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma patients. Preclinical data presented at ASH 2025 showed VV169 eliminated disseminated multiple myeloma in all tested humanized mouse models, even at the lowest dose. Future plans include advancing VV169 into the clinic in 2026 and validating the broader delivery platform for additional in vivo CAR-T programs. Vyriad also maintains corporate partnerships with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Novartis, supporting development across oncolytic virotherapy, in vivo gene therapy, and gene-editing applications. The company is privately held and headquartered in Rochester, Minnesota. To date, it has secured at least $85 million in Series B funding to fuel its ongoing clinical and platform development.