|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Life Sciences Accelerator Gets a $10 Million Boost
|
|
By Brian Gormley, WSJ Pro
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Good day. Innovation Works, which invests in startups in southwestern Pennsylvania, has gained additional firepower to help biomedical startups lift off at a time when its investors are seeing innovation rise in areas such as biotechnology, digital health and healthcare technology.
Pittsburgh-based Innovation Works runs accelerators devoted to life sciences and other sectors, like software and robotics. It also operates a seed fund that makes 40 to 60 deals a year, about a third of which are in life sciences, said Innovation Works’ Chief Executive Ven Raju. Innovation Works’ life sciences investments include surgical-robotics company Blue Belt Technologies, which was acquired by medical-technology company Smith & Nephew in 2016.
In May, Innovation Works’ life sciences accelerator, AlphaLab Health, received a $10 million grant from an anonymous donor. The grant established a new evergreen fund that gives Innovation Works additional capital to back startups from that life sciences accelerator. Innovation Works will now be able to make a larger number of life sciences investments and invest more heavily in existing portfolio companies, Raju said.
In addition to supporting portfolio companies, Raju hopes the new evergreen fund will further strengthen the life sciences sector of the region, which is notable for research institutions such as the University of Pittsburgh.
And now on to the news...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Color Health said that in a trial of its AI copilot clinicians were able to analyze patient records in an average of five minutes. PHOTO: COLOR HEALTH
|
|
|
|
|
|
OpenAI expands healthcare push. OpenAI is working with startup Color Health to expand the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare by applying its AI models to cancer screening and treatment. Color Health, which was founded as a genetic testing company in 2013, has developed an AI assistant or “copilot” using OpenAI’s GPT-4o model, The Wall Street Journal reports. The copilot helps doctors create cancer screening plans, as well as pretreatment plans for people who have been diagnosed with cancer. The copilot is intended to assist doctors, not replace them, said Othman Laraki, co-founder and chief executive of the startup.
-
It is OpenAI’s latest foray into healthcare. The San Francisco-based AI lab announced in April a deal with Moderna where the biotech company uses AI to speed up business processes and tasks like selecting optimal doses for clinical trials. (Wall Street Journal owner News Corp has a content-licensing partnership with OpenAI.)
|
|
|
|
Boston Scientific to Buy Silk Road Medical for About $1.26 Billion
|
|
|
Boston Scientific has struck a deal to buy medical-device maker Silk Road Medical for about $1.26 billion, adding a technology for stroke prevention to its vascular portfolio, WSJ reports. Boston Scientific on Tuesday said it would pay $27.50 a share in cash for Silk Road, a 27% premium to Monday’s closing price of $21.67 for the Sunnyvale, Calif., company. Including Silk Road’s roughly $100 million cash position, the deal carries an enterprise value of about $1.16 billion, Boston Scientific said.
-
The Marlborough, Mass., medical-technology company said the acquisition adds a platform of products to prevent stroke in patients with carotid artery disease through a minimally invasive procedure called transcarotid artery revascularization.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
California Forever founder and CEO Jan Sramek at a January press conference promoting the campaign to build a new city in Solano County, Calif. PHOTO: JANIE HAR/ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
|
|
|
Silicon Valley tech billionaires are backing a group that wants to build a new kind of suburban utopia featuring affordable housing and sustainable energy a 90-minute drive from San Francisco, WSJ reports. But first, the group will have to market its way out of a tangled political position.
|
|
|
|
|
Corrections & Amplifications: Sapphire Ventures participated in Huntress’s Series D funding round. Tuesday’s newsletter incorrectly said that Sapphire Partners participated.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
People
Palo Alto, Calif.-based gene therapy developer Kriya Therapeutics appointed Katherine Eade to the position of chief legal officer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Marea Therapeutics, a South San Francisco, Calif.-based developer of medicines for cardiometabolic diseases, launched with $190 million in combined Series A and B rounds from investors including Third Rock Ventures.
Iambic Therapeutics, an AI-driven drug-discovery platform based in San Diego, closed an oversubscribed $50 million Series B extension round from investors including Mubadala Capital.
Nomad Health, a New York-based digital marketplace for healthcare jobs, picked up a $22 million investment led by HealthQuest Capital. The company also promoted Justin Lambert to chief executive officer from president and chief operating officer.
Ability Biologics, a Montreal-based startup using generative AI to discover and develop antibody therapeutics for cancer and immune-related disorders, closed an $18 million seed round led by Amplitude Ventures.
Marigold Health, which offers peer support services for people with mental health and substance use conditions, closed an $11 million Series A round co-led by Rock Health Capital and Innospark Ventures.
Zing Coach, an AI-powered fitness app, raised $10 million in Series A equity and debt funding from investors including Zubr Capital.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One retracted study on the abortion pill was cited in more than a dozen filings in the Texas mifepristone case. PHOTO: CHARLIE RIEDEL/ASSOCIATED PRESS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
