Good day. SR One is investing its new $600 million biotechnology venture fund as finance markets have tightened and a banking crisis is unfolding.

This isn’t the first time SR One has invested in a turbulent period and its strategy suits the times, said Simeon George, chief executive and a managing partner of the firm.

SR One, a former venture arm of drugmaker GSK PLC, spun out in 2020, has just raised its second fund as an independent firm. Dr. George joined SR One in 2007, Managing Partner Rajeev Dadoo has been with the firm since 2004, and Partners Matthew Foy and Jill Carroll joined in 2011.

Companies that succeeded after the 2008 financial meltdown developed drugs efficiently. Startups also need that approach now, Dr. George said. SR One is focusing on ensuring biotechs have enough money to reach important goals and on helping them work with pharmaceutical companies and secure nondilutive capital, he said.

“We understand how hard it is to raise capital in this environment,” Dr. George said. “We have a level of empathy and collaboration that I believe really separates us.”

SR One, whose limited partners include GSK and other investors, launches and invests in startups and backs later-stage companies. It is an interesting time to evaluate companies that would have gone public two years ago, Dr. George said.

And now on to the news...

Addiction treatment. Telemedicine companies are facing a regulatory shift that many entrepreneurs say would undercut their ability to quickly prescribe medication that helps prevent opioid overdoses. 

• During the Covid-19 pandemic, telehealth companies benefited from a waiver of the requirement that patients be seen in-person before receiving a telemedicine prescription for buprenorphine, a controlled substance used to treat opioid addiction.
   
• The Biden administration has proposed reviving the in-person requirement for telemedicine prescriptions for controlled substances. Under the proposal, patients could receive a 30-day supply of buprenorphine without an in-person exam, but would then need to be evaluated in person to continue telehealth prescriptions. The Drug Enforcement Administration said it would draft a final rule following a comment period that ends this week. 
   
• Scheduling a doctor’s appointment within 30 days is difficult and will lead to disruptions in care, some telehealth entrepreneurs said.

Bob Iger’s return to Disney is starting to inspire copycats as other activists look to bring veteran chief executives back from retirement, The Wall Street Journal reports. San Diego-based Illumina Inc., the maker of gene-sequencing machines, could be next. Earlier this month, Carl Icahn launched a proxy battle at Illumina, nominating three people to the board. In a letter to shareholders, he argued that the current board had failed them by allowing management to close the acquisition of cancer-screening company Grail despite antitrust concerns. Now he wants change at the management level too, and he has a candidate in mind for the top spot: former CEO Jay Flatley.

Prysm Capital LP, a minority-owned firm launched by three former executives from BlackRock Inc.’s private-equity team, collected $305 million for its debut fund to invest in technology, consumer and healthcare companies, WSJ Pro Private Equity reports. The new vehicle comes at a difficult time for private-equity fundraising, as many institutional investors have pulled back their commitments and driven a larger share of their capital to managers that they had been working with for years, rather than forming relationships with new firms. The Princeton, N.J.-based firm, which held a first close for Prysm Capital Fund I LP in 2021, typically takes non-controlling equity stakes in growing companies, said Managing Partner Jay Park, who founded the firm in 2019 with Partners Muhammad Mian and Matt Roberts.

Funds

European life sciences investor Sofinnova Partners said it launched a new investment strategy focused on digital medicine to be headed by Partners Edward Kliphuis and Simon Turner.

People

BrainCheck Inc., an Austin, Texas-based creator of a digital cognitive assessment and care management platform, appointed Kim Rodriguez as the company’s new chief executive. She was most recently a venture partner at S3 Ventures.

Bryn Pharma LLC, developer of a needle-free epinephrine nasal spray for people with anaphylaxis, named James “Jim” Borneman as chief operating officer. He previously worked at Sanofi for more than 20 years.

Exits

Ingenio LLC, an online global marketplace for holistic guidance, acquired Simple Habit, a meditation and mindfulness business, for an undisclosed amount.

Wellvana Health, a Nashville, Tenn.-based startup helping primary care physicians, specialists and health systems transition to a value-based care model, closed an $84 million funding round co-led by Heritage Group and Valtruis.

Sirius Medical, provider of a navigation system that helps surgeons locate tumors, completed a €12 million Series B round. Holland Capital led the investment, which included participation from Curie Capital and others. The company has offices in The Netherlands and Scottsdale, Ariz.

BioCorteX, a London-based digital medicine startup, was seeded with a $5 million investment led by Sofinnova Partners and Hoxton Ventures. With this funding, Sofinnova Partners’ Edward Kliphuis and Hoxton Ventures’ Hussein Kanji joined the company’s board.

Relu, a Belgium-based software startup focused on automating digital dental treatment planning, raised €2 million in seed funding from investors including Dental Innovation Alliance.

• Dreaded medical paperwork required by health insurers to be trimmed
   
• Congress moves to add ‘tranq’ to controlled-drugs list
   
• Former Aetna CEO to take helm of health insurer Oscar
   
• Marijuana has special risks for older people
   
• Dogs and cats linked to reduced child food allergies
   
• FDA makes overdose-reversal drug Narcan available over-the-counter

• Speech may reveal early signs of Alzheimer’s (Wired)
   
• Hospitals are increasingly crowded with kids who tried to harm themselves, study says (New York Times)
   
• Medical-device companies now need to prove to FDA they’re protected against cyberattacks (STAT)

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, Angus Loten, and Marc Vartabedian.

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