Good day. Cortado Ventures, an Oklahoma City-based venture firm that quickly secured $20 million for its debut venture fund in 2020, is making headway toward an $80 million second fund it plans to invest in life sciences and other technology startups.

Cortado launched in early 2020 and doubled the $10 million goal it set for its debut fund, according to Managing Partner Nathaniel Harding, who previously was president of energy exploration and production company Antioch Energy. Cortado, which recently held a $20 million first closing on its second fund, aims to hold a second closing this summer, Mr. Harding said.

Cortado, which also invests in energy and logistics startups, seeks to use its location to its advantage. It finds that valuations are lower than in more-competitive areas such as Boston or Silicon Valley, General Partner Mike Moradi said.  

Cortado’s life-sciences investments include Recuro Health, a digital-health startup led by Michael Gorton, the former chief executive of telehealth company Teladoc Health. Cortado has a network of executives who invested in its funds and who can help Cortado source and evaluate deals, Mr. Harding said. 

For its larger second fund, Cortado expects that about half the investors in the vehicle will be individuals and the rest institutional investors, Mr. Moradi said

And now on to the news...

Food allergies. Biotechnology startup Alladapt Immunotherapeutics Inc. has raised $119 million in new venture capital to study a drug that could help food-allergy patients avoid severe reactions to tiny amounts of foods like peanuts, eggs and salmon.

• Food allergies affect 32 million Americans. In these people, the immune system sees certain foods as harmful, triggering reactions that can include anaphylaxis, a potentially fatal narrowing of a person’s airway.
   
• Peanut allergies alone affect an estimated 1.2% of the overall U.S. population and about 2.5% of children, according to the American Journal of Managed Care.  
   
• Alladapt is developing a single drug that targets the nine food groups that cause most food allergies. Among those foods are peanuts, eggs, cod, salmon, soy, milk and tree nuts such as pistachios and walnuts.

The Food and Drug Administration is preparing to order Juul Labs Inc. to take its e-cigarettes off the U.S. market, according to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal's Jennifer Maloney reports. The FDA could announce its decision as early as this week, the people said. The marketing denial order would follow a nearly two-year review of data presented by the vaping company, which sought authorization for its tobacco- and menthol-flavored products to stay on the U.S. market.

People

Latina-led seed-stage investor Ulu Ventures promoted Kathy Chen and Nancy Torres to partner. Ms. Chen is focused on healthcare and sustainability, and was previously at 1955 Capital. Ms. Torres focuses on fintech and Web3, and was at Goldman Sachs before joining Ulu Ventures.

Angiex, a developer of therapies for solid cancers, appointed Marty J. Duvall as chief executive. He was previously chief executive of Oncopeptides and Tocagen. Cambridge, Mass.-based Angiex is backed by investors including Starling Ventures and Wild Ventures.

QurAlis Corp., a developer of treatments for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative diseases, appointed Anne Clem Whitaker as chair of the board. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company is backed by investors including Mission BioCapital, Inkef, Dementia Discovery Fund and Droia Ventures.

Exits

Business-to-business telehealth infrastructure provider SteadyMD acquired BlocHealth, a clinician licensing, credentialing and payer enrollment platform. Terms weren’t disclosed. SteadyMD investors include Lux Capital, Pelion Venture Partners, Next Ventures, Acrew Capital, Draper Associates and Sound Ventures.

Publicly traded Bio-Techne Corp. agreed to purchase Namocell Inc., a single cell sorting and dispensing company, for an undisclosed amount. Foothill Ventures and Oriza Ventures list Namocell in their portfolios.

DEM BioPharma Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based immuno-oncology startup, launched with a $70 million investment. Longwood Fund and Alta Partners led the round, which included participation from Insight Partners, Pfizer Ventures, Astellas Venture Management, Emerson Collective, UTokyo Innovation Platform and Alexandria Venture Investments. Jan Skvarka, former chief executive of Trillium Therapeutics, was named executive chairman.

MicroTransponder Inc., an Austin, Texas-based startup developing a neurostimulation device to improve hand and arm mobility in stroke survivors, closed a $53 million Series E round led by U.S. Venture Partners. New investors Osage University Partners, Action Potential Venture Capital and The Vertical Group also participated in the funding, along with existing backers Green Park & Golf Ventures and Exceller Hunt Ventures. In addition to the investment, MicroTransponder named Richard Foust as chief executive. He previously held positions at Velano Vascular, Analyte Health, Abbott Vascular, Guidant Corp. and Perclose. USVP’s Casey Tansey and Osage University Partners’ Bill Harrington will join the company’s board.

Therorna Inc., a China-headquartered developer of circular RNA technology-based vaccines and therapies, secured $42 million in Series A financing from investors including MSA Capital, Sherpa Healthcare Partners, 3H Health Investment, Quan Capital and Cenova Capital.

Carbon Biosciences, a Boston-based developer of novel parvovirus-derived gene therapies, raised $38 million in Series A funding. Agent Capital led the round, which included contributions from Longwood Fund, Astellas Venture Management, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Solasta Ventures, UTokyoIPC and Camford Capital. Additionally, Joel Schneider joined the company as president and chief executive. He was most recently chief operating officer at Solid Biosciences. Chen Schor, Adicet Bio president and CEO, was named board chair.

Elucid, a Boston-based developer of a non-invasive medical software for heart disease diagnosis, completed a $27 million Series B round from investors including Biovision Ventures, MedTex Ventures, IAG Capital Partners, Bold Brain Ventures and BlueStone Venture Partners.

Florence Healthcare, an Atlanta-based clinical trial software startup, landed $27 million in Series C1 funding led by Insight Partners.

AiVF, a Tel Aviv-based in vitro fertilization software platform, raised a $25 million Series A round led by Insight Partners.

Rivet, a Salt Lake City-based healthcare billing platform, collected $20.5 million in Series B funding. Catalyst Investors led the round, with Partner Tyler Newton joining the board. Additional investors included Ankona Capital, Menlo Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners and Lux Capital.

Gemelli Biotech Corp., a Raleigh, N.C.-based provider of precision diagnostics for gastrointestinal diseases, snagged $19 million in Series A funding. Lead investor Blue Ox Healthcare Partners was joined by Cedars-Sinai, Carolina Angel Network, CerraCap Ventures and others in the round.

Magnetic Insight Inc., an Alameda, Calif.-based imaging diagnostics startup, scored $17 million in Series B funding. Celesta Capital led the investment, which included contributions from Alumni Ventures Group, Gaingels, 5AM Ventures and Sand Hill Angels.

Idoven, a Madrid-based startup focused on early detection and precision medicine for cardiovascular diseases, nabbed $12.9 million in Series A financing. Insight Partners and Northzone led the round, with participation from Wayra. In addition to the Series A investment, Idoven picked up $6.9 million in grant and equity funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator.

Vibe Biotechnology Inc., a Boston-based startup with a community-driven approach to identifying and developing treatments for rare diseases, picked up a $12 million investment. Led by Initialized Capital, the funding included additional support from 6th Man Ventures, Lerer Hippeau and others.

• Death of man who received a pig-heart transplant remains a mystery
   
• Moderna to build new vaccine facility in the U.K.
   
• As kids under 5 start getting the Covid-19 vaccine, parents struggle to find appointments
   
• How period-tracker apps treat your data, and what that means if Roe v. Wade is overturned
   
• New York City developer launches life-science venture
   
• Promising weight-loss aid emerges: diabetes drugs
   
• ALS patients weigh travel to Canada to get drug for deadly illness

• To protect people with addiction from discrimination, Justice Deptartment turns to a long-overlooked tool: the ADA. (STAT)
   
• Galapagos, with latest deals, charts an unexpected journey to cell therapy. (Biopharma Dive)
   
• Hacking the human cell: how once ‘undruggable’ proteins became the new frontier in drug development. (Life Sci VC)
   
• Uterine cancer is on the rise, especially among Black women. (New York Times) 
   
• Scientists hacked a locust’s brain to sniff out human cancer. (MIT Technology Review)

This newsletter was compiled by Matthew Strozier, Zachary Cole and Brian Gormley. 

WSJ Pro Venture Capital is a premium service of The Wall Street Journal. We cover venture capital and the global startup ecosystem. Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The Team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley and Marc Vartabedian.

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