Good day. The future of treating paralyzing conditions will include brain implants that help patients move and communicate, life sciences venture investors with Prime Movers Lab say.

Jackson, Wyo.-based Prime Movers recently raised $245 million for its second fund targeting startups pursuing scientific breakthroughs in various industries. It is increasing its life sciences focus with this latest vehicle, and has just hired three new bioscience investors: Amy Kruse, Caleb Bell and Jyothi Devakumar.

One area it is considering are devices that help people with diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis that rob them of their ability to move freely.

Implantable electrodes could record and decode brain signals and connect wirelessly to external devices, such as wheelchairs, or computers to make sentences patients think appear on screens, says Dr. Kruse, a neuroscientist.

Many of these technologies have received funding over the years from groups such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, an arm of the U.S. Defense Department, and are now ready for venture investment, says Dr. Kruse, who previously worked on neuroscience programs for Darpa.

These new technologies could still face regulatory and reimbursement obstacles, but because of their potential to restore lost functions, “we have faith these things will resolve themselves,” Dr. Kruse says.  

And now on to the news...

Global-health fund. Investors including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have backed a $300 million venture-capital fund seeking to make medical innovations more accessible to people in developing countries.

• The Gates Foundation has committed $75 million to the debut fund of New York-based Adjuvant Capital, which said it already has tapped the pool to invest in 14 companies targeting conditions such as rabies, yellow fever, herpes and Covid-19. 
   
• In addition to bankrolling treatments for conditions common in the developing world, Adjuvant requires the companies it backs to sign agreements to make their products available and affordable to people in low- and middle-income countries.
   
• Healthcare venture investment is booming, but few U.S. investors focus on diseases affecting poorer countries. By helping companies bring medical treatments to these nations, Adjuvant is betting it can achieve its social mission and deliver investor profits. 

Sagard Holdings has raised $725 million for its first healthcare royalty fund as the Toronto-based asset manager continues its quest to diversify the alternative investment strategies it offers, WSJ Pro's Laura Kreutzer reports.

• The final tally for Sagard Healthcare Royalty Fund LP exceeded the firm’s $600 million target. Sagard Holdings itself contributed $75 million to the fund.
   
• Sagard’s healthcare royalty team focuses on investments in traditional royalty deals as well as credit or credit-like financing for commercial-stage drugs and medical devices.
   
• The team has backed at least two deals out of the new fund, including an agreement announced in August with Athenex Inc. to help the drug developer commercialize an oral chemotherapy treatment for metastatic breast cancer. 

SPACs

Owlet Baby Care Inc., which makes cameras and sensors that track babies' sleep and health, will become publicly traded via a merger with special-purpose acquisition company Sandbridge Acquisition Corp. in a deal that values the company at about $1.07 billion. Lehi, Utah-based Owlet previously raised funding from investors including Trilogy Equity Partners, Eclipse Ventures, Broadway Angels, Enfield Ventures and Pelion Venture Partners.

Funds

Battery Ventures closed a new $400 million fund to deliver additional capital to a small subset of the firm’s later-stage companies. The firm, which invests across software and services, enterprise infrastructure, online marketplaces, healthcare IT and industrial technology, has closed Battery Ventures Select Fund I one year after raising a combined $2 billion for Battery Ventures XIII and Battery Ventures XIII Side Fund. In addition to the new fund, Battery Ventures has formed Behavioral Holdings, a cloud-based platform to help behavioral-health and human-services organizations operate more effectively. Battery is doing this through the formation of a new holding company and strategic investments in Welligent and Datis, whose technologies Battery will utilize in the new platform.

People

Life sciences investor Westlake Village BioPartners appointed Peter Calveley as chief operating officer. He was previously a managing director in the investment banking group at SVB Leerink.

Exits

Charles River Laboratories International Inc. is buying cell and gene therapy contract development and manufacturing organization Cognate BioServices Inc. for about $875 million in cash. Memphis, Tenn.-based Cognate is backed by investors including EW Healthcare Partners and Medivate Partners.

C2Dx Inc., a Kalamazoo, Mich.-based medical device company backed by Plymouth Growth Partners, acquired T/Pump, which provides localized temperature therapy for pain relief, from Stryker. Terms weren’t disclosed.

Forks Over Knives, a multimedia brand in food and health, and The Beet, which offers a guide to eating a more plant-based diet, have merged and formed Upbeet Brands. A capital raise to support the merger was led by Gather Ventures and included participation from 25madison.

Mainstay Medical Holdings PLC, a Dublin-based developer of an implantable device to treat chronic lower back pain, closed a $108 million investment. Ally Bridge Group and Sofinnova Partners co-led the round, which included participation from KCK Group and Fountain Healthcare Partners. Ally Bridge’s Charles Chon and Sofinnova Partners’ Cédric Moreau will join the company’s board.

Eden Health Inc., a New York-based startup that offers virtual and on-site healthcare services to employees, raised $60 million in Series C funding. Insight Partners led the round, which saw additional support from Amigos Health, Aspect Ventures, Company Ventures, Flare Capital, Flexcap Ventures, Max Ventures and PJC.

Excision BioTherapeutics Inc., a San Francisco-based startup whose lead candidate will soon start a clinical trial in patients with chronic HIV infection, completed a $60 million funding round led by GreatPoint Ventures. New investors Adjuvant Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, Anzu Partners, Cota Capital, WRVI Capital, IndusAge Partners, Loreda Holdings and Olive Tree Capital also participated in the financing, along with existing backer Artis Ventures. Ashok Krishnamurthi, managing partner at GreatPoint Ventures, will join the board.

Medfar Clinical Solutions, a Montreal-based electronic medical records web application, picked up a $25 million investment. Walter Capital Partners led the round, with President and Chief Executive Éric Phaneuf joining Medfar’s board.

Iterion Therapeutics Inc., a Houston-based startup developing novel cancer therapeutics, nabbed $17 million in Series B funding. Lumira Ventures led the round, which included support from Santé Ventures, Venture Investors, GPG Ventures and Viva BioInnovator.

Felix, a Canadian digital healthcare platform focusing on birth control and erectile dysfunction treatments, closed a $10 million Series A round. Whitecap Venture Partners led the investment, with Partner Russell Samuels joining the board. Mantella Venture Partners, BrandProject and H Ventures also contributed to the funding.

Talkiatry, a New York-based psychiatric-care startup, secured $5 million in Series A financing. Sikwoo Capital Partners led the round, which included participation from Relevance Ventures. Cameron Newton of Relevance Ventures and Kenneth Breen of Paul Hastings will join the board. Richard Park, founder and former chief executive of CityMD, also contributed to the Series A round and joins the board.

Botco.ai, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based healthcare chat service, was seeded with a $2.2 million investment. Stout Street Capital led the round, with participation from Sterling Road, PHX Ventures and Arizona Tech Investors.

Nest Collaborative, a Farmington, Conn.-based virtual lactation consultation platform, gathered $2.1 million in seed funding. Altitude Ventures led the investment, with additional participation from Bread and Butter Ventures, Wavemaker 360, Portfolia FemTech Fund II, Connecticut Innovations, Carnrite Ventures and the Hustle Fund.

• Insiders at Covid-19 vaccine makers sold nearly $500 million of stock last year
   
• U.S. to expand Covid-19 testing and sequencing 
   
• Vaccine delays in developing nations risk prolonging the pandemic
   
• The science behind why Covid variants are spreading faster

• After four decades, one researcher's radical HIV cure finally gets its shot (Endpoints News)
   
• An messenger-RNA vaccine delivered in hydrogel shows promise as a durable cancer immunotherapy (Fierce Biotech)
   
• Rural hospital remains entrenched in Covid ‘war’ even amid vaccine rollout (Kaiser Health News) 
   
• Backed by big hospitals, a former Microsoft executive wades into the messy business of selling patient data (Stat News)

This newsletter was compiled by Brian Gormley 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.

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