Good day. After years of treating cancer patients, University of California, San Francisco oncologist Hala Borno has founded a startup that aims to help more people participate in clinical trials of oncology drugs.

Dr. Borno is founder and chief executive of Trial Library Inc., a San Francisco-based company that has raised seed capital from Lux Capital, NEXT Ventures and individuals.

Trial Library plans to reimburse community oncology practices for screening patients for cancer trials in an effort to identify more people who are eligible to join them.

The company also plans to work with partner organizations that can help patients with food, travel and logistical issues when participating in trials.

By removing barriers to joining clinical studies, Dr. Borno aims to make trials more inclusive.

Most cancer patients don’t participate in clinical trials, research shows. Racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in biomedical research, according to the Food and Drug Administration, citing issues such as mistrust of clinical research and difficulties with traveling to clinical trial sites.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shed light on racial inequities in medical care, Dr. Borno said. Trial Library’s goal is to make cancer care better and more equitable, she said.

And now on to the news ...

Seed deal. Lux Capital has led a $5 million seed financing for cancer clinical-trials startup Trial Library Inc., part of a series of investments the venture-capital firm has made in companies with technologies that could increase participation in medical research, WSJ Pro reports. 

• Clinical trials typically occur at urban academic medical centers, which can make participation difficult for people who live far from them. Mistrust of clinical research and the time and resources required to travel to trial sites also are hurdles, medical researchers say.
   
• Lux Capital has been investing in companies seeking to help researchers with trial enrollment and make studies more diverse. They include Science 37 Holdings Inc., which enables patients to join studies from their home; and H1, whose technology platform helps drugmakers identify doctors who can help with clinical trials.

A GenapSys Inc. founder was denied his request to have the gene sequencing business’s bankruptcy case dismissed after he alleged the company filed its chapter 11 case without proper corporate authority, WSJ Pro reports. In a rare challenge to a company’s authority to file for bankruptcy, Hesaam Esfandyarpour said GenapSys didn’t give enough advance notice of a July 11 meeting, at which the bankruptcy was authorized. Mr. Esfandyarpour said he also believed that the board was improperly constituted. However, the judge agreed with GenapSys that Mr. Esfandyarpour didn’t have the ability to revoke an agreement that gave the company more say on board seats and therefore the power to authorize a bankruptcy filing.

The Food and Drug Administration approved a gene therapy from Bluebird Bio Inc. that represents a potential cure for a rare blood disorder at a price of $2.8 million per patient, making it one of the nation’s most expensive drugs, The Wall Street Journal reports. The FDA on Wednesday cleared the treatment, Zynteglo, for patients who rely on regular blood transfusions because of a genetic disease called beta-thalassemia, which interferes with the production of hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout the body. Bluebird said it would reimburse private and commercial health insurers for as much as 80% of the treatment’s cost if it stops working up to two years after receiving it.

Growth in Latin America’s venture-capital industry has eclipsed private equity, boosted by an emerging middle class that drove demand for new information and financial technologies even as traditional buyout activity floundered in recent years, a new report showed, WSJ Pro reports. Assets under management at venture-capital funds in the region reached $9.25 billion by last September, up nearly 48% from $6.27 billion a year earlier, according to Preqin Ltd., a provider of alternative-asset industry data.

People

Red Cell Partners, an incubator building companies that are bringing advancements in healthcare and national security, said Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. joined the firm as chief investment officer, chairman of the investment committee, partner and member of the board. He was most recently president and chief executive of TIAA.

Foresite Labs, an incubator focusing on data science and healthcare, appointed Uplaksh Kumar as chief operating officer. He was previously senior vice president of strategic operations and scale at Grail.

Orna Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Mass.-based RNA therapy developer, has closed $121 million toward a targeted $221 million Series B round. New investor Merck joined founding investors MPM Capital and BioImpact Capital in the new funding.

Senda Biosciences Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based startup harnessing nature to program targeted medicines, closed a $123 million Series C round. Previous backers Flagship Pioneering, Alexandria Venture Investments, Longevity Vision Fund, Mayo Clinic, Partners Investment and State of Michigan Retirement System were joined by new investors Samsung Life Science Fund, Qatar Investment Authority, Bluwave Capital and Stage 1 Ventures in the round.

Incredible Health, a San Francisco-based career marketplace for healthcare workers, secured $80 million in Series B financing led by Base10 Partners, bringing the company’s valuation to $1.65 billion. New investors including Rethink Impact and Stardust Equity also participated in the round, along with existing backers Andreessen Horowitz and Obvious Ventures.

Bluejay Therapeutics Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based startup developing a treatment for chronic HBV infection, completed a $41 million Series B round. Arkin Bio Ventures led the investment, which included contributions from Synergenics, RiverVest Venture Partners, Octagon Capital and InnoPinnacle International. Synergenics’ William J. Rutter, Arkin Bio Ventures’ Alon Lazarus and Octagon Capital’s Ting Jia were added to Bluejay’s board.

Moximed Inc., a Fremont, Calif.-based developer of an implantable shock absorber for people with knee osteoarthritis, raised $40 million in Series C equity and debt funding. Advent Life Sciences led the investment, which saw participation from New Enterprise Associates, Future Fund, Vertex Healthcare, Gilde Healthcare, GBS Venture Partners and Morgenthaler Ventures. Debt was provided by Runway Growth Capital.

Arine, a San Francisco-based medication intelligence startup, landed $29 million in Series B equity and debt funding. Led by 111° West Capital, the round included additional support from MBX Capital, New Leaf Venture Partners, Katalyst Ventures and Super Capital Group.

KeyCare Inc., a Chicago-based virtual care platform, picked up $24 million in Series A funding from 8VC, LRVHealth, Bold Capital Partners and Spectrum Health Ventures.

Dr. B, a New York-based telehealth startup, snagged an $8 million investment from Lerer Hippeau, Founders Fund and others.

Love, a Miami-based startup seeking to develop new treatments and healing technologies based on community feedback, was seeded with a $7.5 million investment at a $180 million valuation. Human Capital and MaC Venture Capital were the investors. In addition to the funding, the company appointed Kevin Horgan as chief medical officer and Stacy McIntosh as chief regulatory officer.

Prolocor Inc., a startup developing a precision diagnostic test with the potential to predict the risk of thrombosis, snagged a $3.2 million seed investment led by Green Park & Golf Ventures. In addition to the funding round, Prolocor received a $2 million Phase II grant from the Small Business Innovation Research program of the National Institutes of Health.

• Monkeypox may have been passed from owners to dog, report says
   
• Vaccinated against polio? Young adults are turning to mom to find out
   
• Why insulin is so expensive and how California aims to make it affordable
   
• U.K. government to pay thousands of people who were infected by tainted blood
   
• Elliott Management has large position in Cardinal Health
   
• CVS, Walgreens and Walmart ordered to pay $650 million to Ohio counties in opioid case
   

• Sanofi signs $1.2 billion pact with Atomwise in latest high-value AI drug discovery deal (Fierce Biotech)
   
• Ex-Google CEO’s VC firm brings in hype-busting researcher to expand its biotech investments (STAT)
   
• This man set the record for wearing a brain-computer interface (Wired)

This newsletter was compiled by Matthew Strozier, Marc Vartabedian and Zachary Cole.

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, Angus Loten and Marc Vartabedian.

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