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Dimension Inx's Bone-Regeneration Implant Gets FDA Blessing
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By Brian Gormley, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Dimension Inx Corp., a startup that has received U.S. regulatory authorization for an implant designed to treat patients with serious injuries or illnesses affecting the face, has secured $12 million in new venture capital in a Series A financing from investors including Prime Movers Lab.
Chicago-based Dimension is a biomaterials-platform company advancing technology from Northwestern University. The company has just won Food and Drug Administration clearance for an implant designed to restore healthy bone.
The implant, which consists of hydroxyapatite—a mineral found in bones and teeth—and a proprietary formulation, is thought to restore bone by stimulating stem cells to turn into bone-producing osteoblasts, according to Chief Executive Caralynn Nowinski Collens.
The technology could reduce or eliminate the need for surgeons to harvest bone from another part of a patient’s body to graft onto the site being treated, according to Dr. Collens.
The financing will help Dimension commercialize its product, called CMFlex. Longer term, Dimension aims to develop more complex regenerative technologies in areas such as reproductive health, Dr. Collens said.
And now on to the news...
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Peregrine Ventures launches biomedical startups through its Incentive incubator.
PHOTO: PEREGRINE VENTURES
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Bioconvergence. Peregrine Ventures, an Israel-based healthcare venture firm, has launched four startups that combine technologies from various disciplines to pursue new approaches to detecting and treating cancer and creating animal-free dairy products.
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The new companies are part of a “bioconvergence” theme Peregrine is pursuing: a strategy that combines technologies from various fields such as electronics and artificial intelligence to create novel products.
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Bioconvergence isn’t new. But life sciences companies recently have grown more sophisticated in their ability to integrate technologies, while governments and insurers have become more accustomed to regulating and reimbursing for such products, said Eyal Lifschitz, founder and managing general partner of Peregrine.
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Peregrine’s new bioconvergence companies include Oncoredox, which is developing a device designed to enable cancer detection through urine samples.
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$3.9 Billion
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The amount healthcare investor Patient Square Capital raised for its inaugural fund.
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GoodRx Shared Personal Health Data With Advertisers, FTC Alleges
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Prescription-drug discount provider GoodRx Holdings Inc. agreed to resolve Federal Trade Commission allegations that it unlawfully disclosed consumers’ personal health information to advertisers, in what the agency said was a first-of-its-kind enforcement action, The Wall Street Journal reports. The company will be prohibited from disclosing consumer health information to third parties for advertising purposes and will pay a $1.5 million civil penalty, according to a proposed settlement filed Wednesday in a California federal court.
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Humira Faces Competition From Lower-Price Copycat in U.S.
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AbbVie Inc.’s arthritis therapy Humira is set to face its first competition in the U.S. from a near-identical copycat, the end of the exclusive run of what was for years the country’s biggest-selling drug, the Journal reports. After two decades of patent protection and more than $135 billion in sales, Humira will contend with the near-identical version from Amgen Inc.
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Tiger Global Cuts Fundraising Target as Startup Market Cools
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Tiger Global Management is scaling back its plans for a large venture-capital fund, a reversal for the tech investor that epitomized the Silicon Valley startup mania, the Journal reports. The New York-based manager told investors it is reducing the target size for its latest venture fund to $5 billion, down from a $6 billion target it set when it began fundraising last fall, according to people familiar with the matter. The $6 billion itself was well below Tiger’s early expectations that it would raise a roughly comparable fund to its last, which totaled $12.7 billion, some investors said.
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Funds
Healthcare-focused Patient Square Capital closed its debut fund with $3.9 billion, well above the fund’s $3 billion target. The Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm has about $5.9 billion in assets under management, including co-investment capital, according to a press release. Portfolio companies include Access Telecare, Apollo Therapeutics, Eargo, Enavate Sciences, Hanger Inc., Kriya Therapeutics, Radius Health, Resolve Biosciences and Summit BHC.
People
Human health and sustainability investor Flagship Pioneering said Christian Schade is joining the firm as growth partner. He was previously president and chief executive of Aprea Therapeutics.
Drug maker Casma Therapeutics Inc. promoted Frank Gentile to chief executive, succeeding Keith Dionne. Mr. Gentile was previously a venture partner at Third Rock Ventures, one of Casma’s investors. Additional backers of the company include Amgen Ventures, The Column Group and Astellas Venture Management.
Healthcare provider Akido Labs Inc. appointed Eric Chin as the company’s first chief financial officer. He was previously CFO at Apollo Medical Holdings. Los Angeles-based Akido is backed by investors including Y Combinator and Future Communities Capital.
Insulin pump maker ViCentra BV named Leo Toole as chief financial officer. He was formerly CFO at hVIVO. Based in The Netherlands, ViCentra counts Inkef, EQT Life Sciences, Health Innovations, Invest-NL, Partners in Equity and Kreos Capital as investors.
Hair loss treatment developer Stemson Therapeutics said Kevin D’Amour joined the company as chief scientific officer. He previously held the same position at ViaCyte. Backers of Stemson Therapeutics include DCVC Bio, Genoa Ventures and AbbVie Ventures.
Exits
Diagnostics startup Sherlock Biosciences Inc. acquired Sense Biodetection, provider of an instrument-free rapid molecular test platform. Terms weren’t disclosed. Last March, Watertown, Mass.-based Sherlock Biosciences said it raised an $80 million Series B round from Novalis LifeSciences, Illumina Ventures, Northpond Ventures and others. U.K.-based Sense Biodetection previously secured funding from investors including Koch Disruptive Technologies, Cambridge Innovation Capital and Earlybird Venture Capital.
Tivity Health acquired Burnalong, a digital health, wellness and fitness platform, for an undisclosed amount. Last year, Tivity Health was acquired by private-equity firm Stone Point Capital. Triventures led a $7 million investment in Burnalong in 2021.
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NOCD Inc., a Chicago-based obsessive-compulsive disorder treatment provider, scored a $34 million investment. Cigna Ventures and 7wireVentures co-led the round, which included participation from Longitude Capital, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, F-Prime Capital, Eight Roads and Health Enterprise Partners.
Recurv Pharma Inc., a biotechnology startup focused on treating solid tumors, will receive up to $24 million from TVM Capital Life Science, according to the venture capital firm. TVM Managing Partner Luc Marengère will join Recurv’s board.
Aluna, a San Francisco-based lung health management platform, completed a $15.3 million Series B round led by Matrix Partners.
Dxcover Ltd., a Scotland-based startup developing spectroscopic liquid biopsy technology for early detection of multiple cancers, secured $9.3 million in Series A financing from investors including Eos Advisory, Mercia Asset Management, Scottish Enterprise, SIS Ventures and Norcliffe Capital. The company also received a grant of $2.7 million from the European Innovation Council.
Teal Health, a San Francisco-based at-home cervical cancer screening provider, was seeded with an $8.8 million investment from Emerson Collective, Serena Ventures, Metrodora Ventures and Felicis Ventures.
TBD Health Inc., a digital and in-person sexual healthcare provider, raised $4.4 million in seed financing. Tusk Venture Partners led the round, which saw participation from Springdale Ventures, Human Ventures, Expansion Venture Capital, Starbloom Capital, Hyphen Capital, The Community Fund and others.
Frontrow Health, an Austin, Texas-based digital health startup, was seeded with a $3 million investment led by Next Coast Ventures and NextGen Venture Partners.
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A sample of lung tissue infected by Coccidioides, a fungus that was largely limited to the Southwest but is now being found in most states.
PHOTO: CDC/DR. MARTIN HICKLIN/GETTY IMAGES
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Dangerous fungi are spreading across U.S. as temperatures rise
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U.S. appeals court sides with drugmakers on discount program
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‘Dr. Phil’ show to end after 21 seasons in another daytime TV shakeup
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Humans aren’t the only mammals that live longer with friends
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