Led · Equity · Oct 2020

Azura Ophthalmics is a clinical-stage company focused on developing medicines to treat Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) and related eye diseases. Its lead candidate, AZR-MD-001, is a topical ointment reformulated with prescription-strength selenium disulfide (SeS2) designed for ophthalmic use and applied to the lower lid. AZR-MD-001 has shown a positive safety and efficacy profile in several studies and, based on Phase 2 data and interactions with the FDA, the company plans to proceed to registration studies in 2021. Azura’s approach targets abnormal hyperkeratinization—the build-up and shedding of proteins at the Meibomian gland—that the company says is the root cause of obstructive MGD, leveraging dermatological knowledge from sebaceous gland treatments. The company has a pipeline of new chemical entities from preclinical through Phase 2 for a range of ocular and lid-margin diseases, and aims to deliver the first-in-class ophthalmic keratolytics. Azura is headquartered in Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, with operations in Australia and the U.S., and raised funding to support upcoming registration studies. Azura Ophthalmics, headquartered in Tel Aviv‑Yafo, Israel, is developing an innovative portfolio of compounds combined with a novel drug delivery platform to treat meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD). Its lead program targets the root cause of MGD, which the company says is the leading cause of dry eye disease. Azura has completed an initial clinical proof-of-concept study that showed efficacy and is preparing for a phase 2a trial. The company has an experienced management team with prior exits and deep ophthalmology and dry-eye drug development experience. Recent executive additions, including a new Chief Medical Officer, are intended to bolster clinical development and regulatory efforts. The new financing will fund expanded clinical studies and talent acquisition to advance the program toward regulatory clearance.

Participated · Series B · Apr 2019

Satsuma Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical developing STS101, a dihydroergotamine (DHE) nasal powder for the acute treatment of migraine. STS101 is a novel investigational drug–device combination designed for intranasal administration with a pharmacokinetic profile optimized for consistent and robust clinical efficacy. The company has applied proprietary nasal delivery, dry-powder formulation, and engineered particle technologies to create a compact, simple-to-use, self-administered, non-injectable DHE product. STS101 completed extensive pre-clinical optimization and a Phase 1 clinical trial. Satsuma intends to use the financing to support Phase 3 development and, in consultation with the FDA, has established key elements of its Phase 3 program, including the design of the Phase 3 efficacy study to support an NDA. The company plans to initiate a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 trial in the third quarter of 2019. Satsuma is led by John Kollins and maintains operations in South San Francisco, California and Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Satsuma Pharmaceuticals is advancing STS101, a migraine therapy that combines dihydroergotamine (DHE) with a proprietary dry‑powder nasal formulation and delivery technology. The nasal formulation and delivery tech were created and developed over the past 15 years by SNBL and are intended to enable rapid absorption with high bioavailability. The company plans to use the Series A proceeds to accelerate development of its lead product candidate, STS101. John Kollins is co-founder, president and chief executive officer. Satsuma is based in South San Francisco, California. The company closed a $12m Series A financing to fund its near-term development plans.

Participated · Series B · Apr 2019

Fusion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted alpha-particle radiotherapeutics to treat cancer. Its lead candidate, [225Ac]-FPI-1434, combines the precision targeting of an antibody with the potency of alpha-particle emitting medical isotopes to attack multiple tumor types. Fusion employs a proprietary Fast-Clear™ Linker Technology Platform designed to rapidly clear unbound medical isotopes to expand the therapeutic window and is applying the platform across different classes of molecules. The company is expanding its pipeline through a proprietary protein discovery platform, in-licensing targeting molecules, and forming strategic partnerships. The $105 million Series B financing will be used to advance and broaden its ongoing clinical program, accelerate new radiopharmaceuticals and combination therapy strategies, and support team expansion and partnering efforts. Fusion has operations in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and Boston, MA.

Participated · Series B · Apr 2019

Fusion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted alpha therapeutics using its Fast-Clear™ Linker Technology platform. The platform attaches medical isotopes to targeting molecules to create next-generation radiopharmaceuticals; in preclinical studies the company reported precise targeting and effective killing of solid tumor cells while minimizing impact to healthy tissue. Fusion’s lead program, FPI-1434, is currently in a Phase 1 trial for treating solid tumors. The company is actively in-licensing targeting molecules and forming strategic partnerships to expand its pipeline. Fusion announced an investment commitment of up to US$20 million from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB), which adds to the US$105 million Series B announced in April 2019. The company said the new capital will be used to expand use of the Fast-Clear platform through new partnerships and to continue advancing FPI-1434 and other novel and combination therapy assets. Fusion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted alpha-particle radiotherapeutics to treat cancer. Its lead candidate, [225Ac]-FPI-1434, combines the precision targeting of an antibody with alpha-particle emitting medical isotopes to attack cancer cells across multiple tumor types. Fusion exploits a proprietary Fast-Clear™ Linker Technology Platform designed to rapidly excrete medical isotopes that are not specifically bound to cancer cells, with the aim of expanding the therapeutic window. The company is applying the Fast-Clear™ platform to different classes of molecules and expanding its pipeline through a proprietary protein discovery platform, in‑licensing targeting molecules, and strategic partnerships. Fusion plans to advance and broaden its ongoing clinical program, accelerate a pipeline of new radiopharmaceuticals and combination therapy strategies, and expand its team. The recent financing provides capital to implement clinical and partnering strategies around its lead program and to accelerate development of its broader radiopharmaceutical pipeline. Fusion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted alpha-particle radiotherapeutics for treating cancer. Its lead program, FPX-01, is an antibody-targeted radiotherapy designed to selectively deliver actinium-225 to tumor cells and has a clinical trial planned for early 2018. The company is also developing centyrin-based alpha therapies obtained through licensing agreements with Janssen Biotech, facilitated by Johnson & Johnson Innovation. Fusion will use additional funds to accelerate clinical development of FPX-01, expand its pipeline through in-licensing targeting molecules, and form new strategic partnerships. Fusion is a spinout from the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) at McMaster University and is located in Hamilton, Ontario. The company combines radiochemistry expertise with molecular targeting to convert established and novel targeting molecules into potent alpha therapies. Fusion Pharmaceuticals is a newly formed biopharmaceutical company spun out of the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization (CPDC) at McMaster University focused on targeted alpha-particle radiotherapeutics. Its lead program, FPX-01, is an antibody-targeted radiotherapy designed to deliver actinium-225 to tumor cells and the company intends to advance FPX-01 into human clinical trials using the Series A proceeds. Fusion has access to a centyrin-based targeting molecule in preclinical development and rights to the centyrin protein targeting platform through licensing agreements with Janssen Biotech, Inc. The company combines proprietary labeling technologies with protein discovery capabilities to build a pipeline of targeted alpha therapeutics and plans companion diagnostics for its candidates. Management is led by founder and CEO Dr. John Valliant and supported by an experienced scientific team and board drawn from investors and CPDC leadership.

Participated · Equity · Feb 2019

DNAnexus provides a cloud-based biomedical data analysis platform that enables researchers and life sciences companies to analyze genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, metabolomic, and clinical datasets together. The company powers large-scale initiatives — it built and supports the UK Biobank Research Analysis Platform and exclusively partnered with the FDA to power precisionFDA. DNAnexus reports more than 12,000 platform users across 48 countries, stores over 65 petabytes of data, and says its stored data has grown 70% per year since 2015. Its customer base includes seven of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies and eight of the top 10 diagnostics companies. The company will use new funding to accelerate its product roadmap, advance its core genomics and multi-omics platform, expand internationally, and support integration of new AI and machine-learning technologies to drive precision medicine. DNAnexus offers an enterprise-grade, cloud-native informatics platform that simplifies complex data analysis, clinical data management, and insights at population scale. The DNAnexus Platform combines genomics, multi-omics, and real-world data with clinical datasets to support diagnostics, drug discovery, and cross-institutional collaboration. Customers run 10 million core processing hours per month and now store 28 petabytes of data, a dataset that has grown roughly 70% per year over the past four years. Its customer base spans government, biopharmaceutical, clinical diagnostics, healthcare, and academic research across 33 countries and includes eight of the top 10 clinical diagnostics companies and seven of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies. The platform supports some of the largest human genome sequencing projects and powers FDA’s precisionFDA platform. DNAnexus reports continued customer growth during the COVID-19 pandemic as organizations adopted its virtual cloud workspace. The company says the financing will advance its global expansion and further development of its data science and scaling capabilities. DNAnexus provides a secure, scalable platform for managing and analyzing genomics and other biomedical data. Its Apollo platform enables multi-omics and clinical data exploration, analysis, and discovery across the DNAnexus global network. The company operates in 33 countries, serving thousands of researchers across biopharmaceutical, bioagricultural, sequencing services, clinical diagnostics, government, and research consortia. DNAnexus supports major projects including NIH’s All of Us, St. Jude Cloud, AstraZeneca’s 2‑million genome initiative, and the Regeneron‑Geisinger collaboration. The firm offers cloud-based solutions for research, clinical diagnostics, and clinical trials and emphasizes cross-institutional collaboration on large biomedical datasets. The recent financing is positioned to support further development of translational research solutions and continued growth in genomics. DNAnexus provides a secure, scalable cloud platform that enables enterprises and research organizations to manage, analyze and share large genomic and biomedical datasets. The company offers products including the DNAnexus Platform and the recently launched Mosaic Microbiome Platform, and has an early access program for Google Brain’s DeepVariant technology. It is developing and preparing to deploy a Translational Informatics Suite aimed at pharmaceutical and research customers. DNAnexus serves thousands of researchers across biopharma, clinical diagnostics, sequencing services, government and research consortia, and operates globally across North America, Europe, Asia‑Pacific (including China), South America and Africa. The company has announced collaborations with AstraZeneca’s Centre for Genomics Research and Rady Children’s Institute for Genomic Medicine. Recent financing will support expansion in the clinical trials market and continued product development and deployment. DNAnexus provides an enterprise PaaS that centralizes management, analysis, and sharing of DNA sequence data for labs and large organizations. The platform supplies secure, compliant cloud infrastructure that supports unlimited scaling of computational and storage resources and meets HIPAA, CLIA, and international regulatory requirements. It serves as a hub for collaboration, tool sharing, and access to reference genotypic and phenotypic datasets. Through projects with Stanford University and Baylor College of Medicine, DNAnexus processed over 17,000 genomes and generated more than 500 terabytes of genomic data, making those datasets available for follow-on analysis. The company reports rapid customer adoption and plans to expand capacity to support growing commercial and academic lab usage. DNAnexus has closed a $15 million Series C to accelerate commercialization of its enterprise platform.