Led · Equity · Oct 2018

Cerecin focuses on creating therapeutics that address the metabolic basis of central nervous system diseases. Its lead candidate, CER-0001, is being evaluated in clinical studies for migraine prevention and infantile spasms, with plans for a pivotal Alzheimer’s disease trial. The company recently completed enrollment of the 83-patient RELIEF pilot migraine study and is expanding its infantile spasms trial sites in Australia and Singapore. Proceeds from recent financings are earmarked to advance these programs and to broaden Cerecin’s pipeline of lipid-based neurotherapeutics. Cerecin benefits from strategic backing by Nestlé S.A. and Wilmar International, along with a network of Korean institutional investors. Although no revenue figures have been disclosed, the firm closed a USD $40 million Series II/IIA round in late 2021 and continues to secure follow-on capital to reach upcoming clinical inflection points.

Led · Equity · May 2012

Inventure Renewables is a Tuscaloosa, Alabama-based renewable process technology developer led by CEO Mark Tegen and located at the Alabama Innovation and Mentoring of Entrepreneur Center at The University of Alabama. The company develops patented and patent-pending chemical catalytic process technology to produce third-generation green chemicals, synthetic jet fuel, biodiesel, and green gasoline from biomass. It processes feedstocks such as palm waste, algae, corn stover and cobs, cane bagasse, switch grass, wood fiber, rice husk and rice straw to generate fuels, fuel intermediates, chemicals and chemical intermediates. Inventure has closed a $5m financing with an option to increase funding in a second tranche to a total of $12m. The round was led by Wilmar International, which has taken an equity stake in both companies, with participation from CMEA Capital and several other investors. The company intends to use a portion of the funds to build and operate a pilot plant to convert palm fiber waste and sugar cane bagasse into mixed sugars for fermentation into ethanol, butanol, and carbon-neutral building blocks for industrial chemicals. The pilot plant will be operated by its sister company, Inventure International (Pte) Limited, incorporated in Singapore. Inventure Chemical processes algae so it can be converted into biofuel. The company operates a test production site and plans to use new funding to expand that facility. It is developing processes to convert algae into jet fuel. The company raised $2 million in a first round of funding and said the capital will be used to expand the test site and further develop its algae-to-jet-fuel processes. Inventure Chemical is based in Gig Harbor, Washington, and disclosed the raise in a statement on its Flash-based website. VentureWire later listed the investors as Cedar Grove Investments, Brighton Jones Wealth Management and undisclosed angel investors.