Good day. Pieter van Rooyen, who previously led startup Edico Genome to a $100 million merger deal, has founded and raised seed financing for research-instrument company Pleno Inc.

Mr. van Rooyen’s previous company, Edico, formed in 2013 and developed a chip used to process data generated by DNA sequencers. In 2018 he sold venture-backed Edico to genomics-technology company Illumina Inc.

Now he is leading Pleno, which launched early last year to develop an instrument platform capable of detecting various targets, such as genetic signatures and proteins, in biological samples.

The company’s approach, which involves signal-processing techniques derived from the telecommunications industry, has applications in areas such as liquid biopsies, which use blood or other fluids to detect diseases such as cancer, according to the company.

Rather than develop diagnostics itself, Pleno’s business model is to sell instruments, reagents and consumables that customers can use, Mr. van Rooyen said.

And now on to the news...

Drug targets. Venture capitalists are financing startups seeking to increase the number of molecular targets for drugmakers to pursue, potentially enabling new treatments for cancer and other diseases. 

• Many drugs work by inhibiting proteins involved in a disease. But the number of proteins accessible to drugmakers is limited because most disease-associated proteins are considered “undruggable,” meaning scientists have been unable to develop compounds against them.
   
• Startups tackling this problem have raised venture capital recently, including drugmakers Terremoto Biosciences Inc. and ProFound Therapeutics Inc. and research-instrument developer Pleno Inc.
   
• As biotech companies have developed new approaches to targeting disease proteins,  capabilities, the universe of undruggable proteins is shrinking, said Reid Huber, a partner with Terremoto investor Third Rock Ventures.

CVS Health Corp. and Walmart Inc. will stop filling prescriptions for controlled substances ordered by clinicians working for Cerebral Inc. and Done Health, the broadest curbs yet by major pharmacies against the telehealth companies following scrutiny of their prescription practices, WSJ's Rolfe Winkler and Sarah Nassauer report. The moves by CVS and Walmart are the most sweeping actions taken by major pharmacies to limit certain prescriptions by the telehealth companies as they face scrutiny over how they have used medication to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Funds

Andreessen Horowitz raised $4.5 billion for its fourth crypto fund. The firm said $1.5 billion will go toward seed investments and $3 billion for venture investments. Last June, Andreessen Horowitz raised $2.2 billion for its preceding crypto vehicle.

People

Life sciences investor Catalio Capital Management said Chau Khuong joined the firm as general partner and senior advisor. He was most recently a partner at OrbiMed Advisors.

Healthcare-focused Illumina Ventures promoted Malek Faham to chief scientist. The firm also appointed Charles Lin as a principal and Dave Johnson as an entrepreneur-in-residence. Prior to joining Illumina Ventures, Mr. Faham was chief scientific officer at Sequenta Inc. Mr. Lin was most recently vice president of business development and marketing at Element Biosciences. Mr. Johnson was previously founder and chief executive of GigaGen Inc.

Digital therapeutics startup Dopavision appointed Mark S. Wuttke as chief executive. He was most recently global program head in the ophthalmology development unit at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Dopavision is backed by investors including Seventure Partners, Novartis Pharma and Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund.

Beckley Psytech Ltd., a startup using psychedelic medicines to address neurological and psychiatric disorders, appointed Laura Trespidi as chief development officer. She was previously a senior vice president at Summit Therapeutics. Last year, Beckley Psytech raised an $80 million Series B round from investors including Integrated, Prime Movers Lab, Palo Santo, Delphi VC, Leafy Tunnel and Negev Capital.

Rael, a feminine care brand, closed a $35 million Series B round. Colopl Next and Signite Partners led the investment, which included participation from Aarden Partners and Unilever Ventures.

Targan, a Morrisville, N.C.-based developer of a vaccine delivery system for the poultry industry, secured $35 million in Series C financing. Co-lead investors Mountain Group Partners and NovaQuest Capital Management were joined by Merck Animal Health and Oval Park Capital in the round.

SwipeRx, a Singapore-based pharmacy network serving Southeast Asia, landed a $27 million Series B equity and debt round. MDI Ventures led the investment, which included additional support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Johnson & Johnson Impact Ventures, SIG and others. SwipeRx recently rebranded from mClinica Pharmacy Solutions.

uMotif, a London-based data capture and decentralized clinical trials platform, picked up a $25.5 million investment from a fund managed by Athyrium Capital Management.

Homethrive Inc., a Northbrook, Ill.-based startup providing support for unpaid family caregivers, added $20 million in Series B funding. Led by Human Capital, the round included contributions from Allianz Life Ventures, 7wireVentures and Pitango.

Circles, a San Francisco-based provider of online group emotional support, raised $16.5 million in Series A funding. Zeev Ventures led the round, which saw participation from NFX, Flint Capital and others.

Code Ocean Inc., a New York- and Tel Aviv-based provider of a digital lab platform for computational scientists, fetched $16.5 million in Series B funding co-led by Battery Ventures and M12.

Fairtility, a Tel Aviv-based startup whose technology seeks to improve in vitro fertilization outcomes, completed a $15 million Series A round. Gurnet Point Capital led the funding, which saw additional support from Nacre Capital and others.

Sifter SP Inc., an Evanston, Ill.-based nutrition-as-a-service platform, was seeded with a $5 million investment from Valor Siren Ventures, Hyde Park Angels and Wintrust Ventures.

• Scientists, mystified by monkeypox outbreak, are sequencing genes to learn about origin
   
• Pfizer to sell vaccines, drugs at low prices to poorer countries
   
• FDA chief takes aim at Abbott Laboratories as he signals potential reforms to food safety division
   
• Can vaccines prevent long Covid? New details on risks and symptoms
   
• How old are you really? Meet your ‘biological age’
   
• Kim Kardashian adds ‘chief taste consultant’ for Beyond Meat to her résumé

• Child’s autopsy from 2008 becomes a clue to mystifying polio-like illness. (STAT News)
   
• Biotech M&A, despite big expectations, has yet to pick back up. (Biopharma Dive)

This newsletter was compiled by Brian Gormley, Matthew Strozier 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 and Marc Vartabedian.

Follow us on Twitter: @wsjvc, @ychernova, @BrianPGormley, @marcvarta.