Health Beacons United States

Health Beacons is an early stage medical device company that is revolutionizing the standard of care for marking and surgically removing non-palpable breast tumors. Physicians are actively seeking an alternative procedure and are enthusiastic about ours, which employs RFID markers that are read with handheld readers, because it addresses all the shortcomings of the current method.  We have a fully functional prototype that has been used successfully in almost 40 human cases and are working on our 510K submission. Investment to date has been from founders, friends and family.  We are currently seeking $1.5M in an equity round to support regulatory clearance, and will require another $2-3M for commercialization which is planned for Q1 2016.

Year Founded
2008
Main Sector
Medtech Phase of Development
Current Investors

Founders, friends and family

Nancy Confrey

HealthQuest Capital United States

Sofinnova Ventures was founded in 1974 and is based in Menlo Park, CA. The firm has approximately $1b of assets under management, and makes life science investments from two fund families; the main Sofinnova Ventures fund and Sofinnova HealthQuest Capital. Sofinnova Venture Partners IX closed at $500 million in 2014, and the debut HealthQuest fund closed at $110 million in 2014. The firm makes investments in the form of equity (preferred stock) and is an activist investor; the firm prefers to lead investments, take a board seat at its portfolio companies and be actively involved in company management. Sofinnova Ventures plans to make 4-6 new investments in life science companies in 2014. 

The Sofinnova Ventures main fund invests in biopharmaceuticals and typically makes initial investments of $5-15m, with the potential for a total investment of $15-30m. The fund invests in companies based in North America or Europe. 

HealthQuest Capital invests in non-biopharmaceutical life science and medtech companies and typically makes initial investments of $2-3m, with the potential for total investments of $5-6m. HealthQuest Capital is a venture growth fund focused on commercial-stage technologies, and only invests in companies headquartered in North America (particularly the US Southeast or West Coast).

Garheng Kong
Garheng Kong
Managing Partner 
Randy Scott
Randy Scott
LinkedIn logo Partner 

HInext LLC United States

Healthcare Software focusing in on Mental health & Addictions. The main goal is to place these individuals on a path to recovery.

TREAT product line is commercially available as an EHR serving the unique needs of community behavioral health, rehabilitation, and other community-based providers. The design of our system is centered on a client-centered recovery model principle with best practice assessments linked to an interdisciplinary plan of care which is at the core of our methodology. TREAT’s modules create a record of client care that functions at multiple levels and builds upon itself. From assessments, to care planning, to documentation, to decision support, TREAT provides an integrated solution centered on client care.

Assessment Tools

Our TREAT product has a catalog of over 120 different assessment tools, and can be customized to include new tools upon request. Assessments are linked with our Interdisciplinary Plan of Client Care (IPCC) and Progress Notes modules to offer a truly integrated approach to patient care.

Website:
www.treatehr.com
Year Founded
2012
Main Sector
Medtech Subsector
Medtech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
Our TREAT product has a catalog of over 120 different assessment tools, and can be customized to include new tools upon request. Assessments are linked with our Interdisciplinary Plan of Client Care (IPCC) and Progress Notes modules to offer a truly integrated approach to patient care. TREAT includes such noteworthy tools as the New York Common Assessment of Need (NYCAN), the ADAT tool suite (Addictions assessments), the PHQ-9, we will shortly be incorporating the Patient Activation Measure (PAM-13), and we uniquely offer the Metabolic Health Monitor, which tracks metabolic functioning for clients on second-generation antipsychotic medications.
Alliance & Collaborations
GSI health
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
TREAT’s IPCC and Progress Notes modules offer integrated Best Practice Guidelines (BPGs) developed in partnership with researcher Dr. Diane Doran at the University of Toronto. This module incorporates best practice guidelines into the care plan, delivering vital, pertinent guidelines to care givers at the point in time when they are making treatment decisions. The BPG options are available as canned-text which is accessed automatically using an incremental search feature. This database can be managed by the administrator, so any updates or organization specific best practices can be incorporated directly into the TREAT system. The standardization provided by this feature offers allows clinical decision support professionals to report against these text fields and improve the organization’s practices to achieve better client care. For example, these reports can help professionals to measure the effectiveness of certain interventions in the treatment of specific issues.
Current Financing Needs
$1Million
Current Investors
friends and family
IP Status
Treat as Clear
Recent Milestones
implementation with one of largest US providers
Management Team Highlights
Peter Catford, President Peter has been active in the healthcare computer consulting and management industry for over 30 years. Peter Co-founded a consulting company in the 1976 that provided technical consulting expertise to fortune 500 companies. The company later transitioned into Baxter Corporation’s healthcare division, where he was responsible for managing a technical group of 28 professionals. The group was responsible for software product development, implementation and installation in Canadian hospitals and healthcare institutions. Peter then moved to co-develop a strategy to integrate the information services departments between Mount Sinai Hospital and The Toronto Hospital. In 1997, Peter founded HInext Inc. to offer consulting and software development primarily focused on information healthcare solutions to healthcare institutions and hospitals across Canada. During the first few years of the business, Peter took an active role as the CIO in the Center for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH). Peter managed the business information and intelligence systems and established a strategy and the architecture for electronic health record implementation at CAMH. Currently, Peter continues to lead and manage HInext and is committed to growing the company into a North American leader in healthcare Information Systems. Linas Balaisis CA, CPA, CFO/COO Linas is responsible for the financial matters and general operations of HInext. Linas is well versed in accounting and marketing matters. He got his CA designation at Ernst & Young. Linas held various financial, tax and operational roles throughout his career. Most recently he lead all marketing activities for Toyota in Canada for Toyota, Lexus and Scion Divisions. Linas is also a direct investor in Hinext. Peggy Lucas, Senior Sales Director Peggy is responsible mainly for Business Development at HInext. Peggy has been instrumental in getting new clients for the firm and has generated north of $3 million in sales for the firm over the last couple of years. Peggy is responsible for responding to RFPs, communication with clients and creating partnership channels. She is spearheading the expansion into the US market and has signed a significant US distributor agreement that has generated substantial traction for the Company in the US Peggy has a Masters in Development studies from the London School of Economics.
Linas Balaisis
CFO/COO 

Horizon Technology Finance United States

Horizon Technology Finance is a venture lending, investment and financial services management company that was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Farmington, Ct with additional offices in Walnut Creek, CA and Reston, VA. The firm controls approximately $200 million in assets under management and look to provide senior or subordinate loans to companies in the range of $2 to $20 million dollars, and often syndicates much larger deals. The firm prefers to lead or co-lead investments that they are involved in and looks to be involved in 15 deals in the next 6-9 months. The firm provides capital to companies located throughout the United States and Canada.

Year Founded
2003
Medtech Phase of Development
Capital Structure Preference
Investment Stage Preference
Jerry Michaud

HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology United States

The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology

 

The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is a Genomic focused Institute located on a 152-acre bio-medical research campus in Huntsville, Alabama whose mission is to translate scientific breakthroughs in the laboratory into real-world benefits that have a profound impact on people’s lives.

 

HudsonAlpha BioVentures Philanthropic Fund

•       Specific Philanthropic Fund - part of the HudsonAlpha Foundation a tax-exempt, 501(c) 3 non-profit organization.

•       All investments to the Fund are tax-deductible

•       Fund goal is $50 million

•       Targeted toward donors seeking to make a long-term impact in human health and make a difference for thousands, even millions, of people suffering from serious disease.

 

Option 1

HudsonAlpha Foundation invests funds in new or established companies and scientific discoveries. Foundation will have an equity stake and receive a ROI, as companies are successful. The return is reinvested into other companies and HudsonAlpha to further its mission and goals – the multiplier effect.

Option 2

HudsonAlpha Foundation will fund promising intellectual property emanating from HudsonAlpha laboratories.

Option 3

HudsonAlpha Foundation provides grant funding to companies who are relocating to or expanding on the HudsonAlpha campus.

 

All investors/donors will have an opportunity to invest in the future in any and all companies and will be informed regularly on the progress of these companies

Year Founded
2008
Biotech Subsector
Management Team Highlights
Richard M. Meyers Ph.D President and Director of Science •Internationally recognized thought leader in genomics and genetics •Leads scientific collaborations in 18 countries with over 700 researchers and clinicians •Scientific expertise in cancer research including breast, kidney, prostate; neurological disorders including ALS, Parkinson’s disease; psychiatric disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression. •Former Chair of the Department of Genetics at Stanford University and Director of the Stanford Human Genome Center •Dr. Myers and his lab contributed 11% of the data in the Human Genome Project’s efforts to sequence the first human genome. •Ph.D. in Biochemistry, University of California Berkeley •Performed doctoral work at Harvard University with Dr. Tom Maniatis
John De Michele
Vice President for Advancement 
BIO
JohnDeMicheleJohn De Michele

Vice President for Advancement

John De Michele came to HudsonAlpha in June 2014 from San Diego, bringing with him 30 years of fundraising leadership and nonprofit executive experience. His diverse background ranges from Tufts University to Northwestern University Medical Center Foundation, from the National Jewish Medical and Research Center to the San Diego Symphony, where he mobilized the largest single gift in its history: $125 million. De Michele understands the challenges facing nonprofit leaders today and acts strategically, and tirelessly on behalf of the Institute.

ideaPoint United States

Year Founded
2008
Service Provider Type
Unique Capabilities

Scout. Evaluate. Invest. Manage.

ideaPoint delivers the leading innovation management solution for the global enterprise. With ideaPoint software, you can scout, evaluate, invest in, track and manage dynamic growth opportunities – all with one secure, simple tool.

ideaPoint provides full lifecycle management of BD/Licensing and acquisition opportunities from scouting, to evaluation, to negotiation, to alliance management; while offering robust tracking and reporting capabilities. Clients include some of the world's most successful BioScience companies.


ideaPoint brings to the enterprise a comprehensive toolset and our best practices to help companies better collaborate and partner in a secure virtual environment.

With ideaPoint software, companies can tactically scout, evaluate and seize a range of growth opportunities, secure strategic partnerships, and manage critical requests, initiatives and alliances

Our solution delivers visibility and facilitates collaboration across an organization and with external partners, streamlining the flow of complex information and optimizing the unique process of each team.

With virtual team assembly and automated routing, robust tracking and on-demand reporting, the ideaPoint solution reduces administrative overhead, increases efficiency and efficacy of process, and provides a simple and intuitive user experience.

Ronnie Koss
VP - Development 
Kaitlin Sullivan
Sales and Marketing Coordinator 
Scott Shaunessy
CEO 

Immunova LLC United States

Immunova is a startup with  an IP portfolio licensed from Yale and the Johns Hopkins Universities.

Immunova's technology platform has a unique capability to deliver one or more drugs to the tumor/disease microenvironment. The drugs can be proteins, small molecules or nucleic acids. The delivery platfrom has demonstatable advantages over other delivery systems. The technology has applications in oncology and inflammation.

The company's lead asset is positioned in oncology. IMM-01, consists of two drugs that (a) undermine the tumor micorenvironment and (b) increase anti-tumor cell mediated immunity. This asset is capable of curing mice of metastatic disease. Further, it significantly enhances the activites of immune checkpoint inhibitors. It is non toxic.

The company is seeking investment and R&D partners. Immunova has defined the path to a Phase I/IIa multidose trial which could initiate within 15 months of funding. Immunova is also seeking partners who wish to validate this platform in oncology and inflammation.

Website:
www.immunova.net
Year Founded
2011
Biotech Subsector
Biotech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
Immunova’s platform enables effective drug combination therapy. Chemically diverse drugs such as biologics and small molecules can be formulated and encapsulated in a liposome and thereby delivered systemically to a target cell or environment where each encapsulated API can be released independently in a controlled or tuneable manner using our proprietary technology. Importantly, this approach also potentiates existing or novel therapies often increasing their therapeutic index. LipoGel-TR is a hybrid platform of liposomes and PLGA nanoparticle delivery systems designed to possess the positive features of each platform while minimizing the negative aspects. Many of the building blocks required to make a LipoGel can be bought preassembled and GMP from third party providers thus shortening development timelines. We have demonstrated the superiority of LipoGels in numerous in vitro assays (drug loading and release and potency) and animal models of disease (efficacy and survival). Using our technology we have demonstrated that we can (a) direct one or more drugs to the TME, (b) increase drug synergies, efficacy and potency of chemo and immunotherapies, (c) decrease drug toxicity, (d) increase immune cell activity and (e) generate new intellectual property.
Alliance & Collaborations
The company is actively seeking partners in oncology and inflammation.
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
The technology has been published in high profile journals and the founder actively collaborates with numerous scientists at leading institutions. The Company’s initial focus is cancer immunotherapy: delivery of molecules that modulate immunity, positively and negatively, in order to undermine the tumor microenvironment and allow the immune system to keep pace with tumor evolution and thus be primed to eradicate disease. Our lead asset, IMM01: • Is targeted to and accumulates in tumors; • Encapsulated APIs are slowly released over 7 days and this can be further modulated; • Dramatically increases potency and efficacy: in a murine model of metastatic disease, IV delivery of IMM-01 results in 85% survival of IMM-01-treated mice at day 60 whereas all untreated mice, as well as mice treated with the drugs in solution, have died by day 30; • Increases immune infiltrate within the tumor which correlates with good patient outcomes • Significantly increases the potency of anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4 mAb therapy in a mouse model of metastatic disease supporting published MoA studies • Is not toxic; there are no signs of renal, hepatic, bronchial, RBC or leukocyte toxicity when IMM-01 is administered to mice at high doses.
Current Financing Needs
Immunova is seeking $8-10M to fund operations for three years and including a phase I/IIa clinical trial
Current Timeline
Pending financing, IMM-01 is ca 15 months from a Phase I/IIa clinical trial
Current Investors
Angel-backed to date
IP Status
The company has licensed 4 granted and 3 pending patents
Recent Milestones
Q3 2014 • Demonstration of synergy with checkpoint inhibitors • New patent filed • Patent granted • Academic founder noted as a bioentrepreneur to watch by Nature Biotechnology Q4 2014 • First phase technology transfer to CMO • Identified lead clinical trial site and PI • Determined drug needs for clinical trial • Regulator engaged for ‘preIND meeting’
Management Team Highlights
The Company has recruited an impressive team that has an established and successful record of building companies. The management, advisors and scientific founders have an established network of both pharmaceutical and medical contacts and extensive experience running biotechnology firms and executing clinical trials. For reference, the following biotech startups founded/managed/invested in by Immunova Management or Advisors, were acquired prior to FDA approval: • Neurovir Therapeutics, Inc. – Acquired by MediGene AG for $42M • Nurel Therapeutics – acquired by DyaMid AB (undisclosed) • Proximagen plc. – Acquired by Upsher Smith for $550M • PharmaGenics Inc. – acquired by Genzyme for $28M • Prostagen– acquired by Cytogen (undisclosed)
Brian Horsburgh

Immusoft Corporation United States

Immusoft’s mission is to develop a breakthrough platform for delivering targeted medicines — programming a patient’s own cells to become miniature drug factories.

Our technology instructs a patient's cells to constantly secrete gene-encoded medicines (biologics). It will enable new treatments by solving current delivery limitations and production challenges. We are initially targeting orphaned diseases. 

Immusoft’s platform can program cells to continually produce and secrete therapeutic proteins and rare antibodies that have been impossible to elicit with a vaccine. This approach makes possible treatments that are otherwise impractical due to short halflife, injection site reactions, production challenges or a small market size. It offers many of the benefits of traditional approaches and modern gene therapies with less risk and greater control.

Immusoft has received grants from the National Institutes of Health and Peter Thiel's Breakout Labs as well as support from private investors, including the former head of preclinical development at Seattle Genetics. We have an exclusive license option on our core technology from Caltech and have filed two additional patents covering our extensive modifications to the technology.

ISP technology could replace a lifetime of infusions with a patient’s own drug-producing cells.

Website:
www.immusoft.com
Year Founded
2009
Biotech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
Turning patients' cells into drug factories
Alliance & Collaborations
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Discovery Genomics, Inc, University of Minnesota, The Ragon Institute, University of California San Francisco
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
Late-stage preclinical
Current Financing Needs
$3 to >$20M
Current Timeline
Preparing IND for clinical trial
Current Investors
Breakout Labs, Founders Fund Science, several angels
IP Status
multiple patents filed worldwide
Recent Milestones
GMP scale-up in preparation for clinical trial; engaging the FDA for Investigator-initiated IND; use of Sleeping Beauty Transposon non-viral vector
Management Team Highlights
Matthew Scholz (Founder and CEO) – Seasoned startup executive; founded and exited Point B Telematics. Eric Herbig, Ph.D., M.B.A. (CSO) – 15+ years of research experience and significant commercialization and management expertise. Zach Hall (Dir. of Operations) – Co-founder and operations director at two previous biomedical startups. Mei Xu, Ph.D. (Dir. of Research) – Molecular biologist with extensive research experience.
J. Zach Hall
Director of Operations 
Matthew Scholz
CEO 

IMS Health Capital, Inc. United States

IMS Health Capital (IMSHC) is a niche life-science focused investment bank which manages financing transactions, and advises on M&A and licensing/partnering transactions.

IMS Health Capital (IMSHC) is a fully owned subsidiary of IMS Health, Inc. (www.imshealth.com) and affiliated with IMS Consulting Group (www.imscg.com).

IMSHC has privileged access to a vast array of IMS Health’s resources and connections and can help prepare a compelling value proposition and put you in touch with the right interested parties.  Our team has extensive life-science industry experience and can provide support at any and all stages of the transaction process.  Unlike most investment banks or business development consultants, IMSHC has immense strategic partnering capabilities and can work with companies on both partnering and financing efforts.  Given our unique positioning and access to a vast array of information and relationships, we see a high volume of opportunities.

IMSHC is a SEC/FINRA licensed broker dealer and a wholly owned subsidiary of IMS Health, Inc.  IMS Health Inc. is publicly traded on the NYSE under the ticker “IMS”, and is the world’s leading information, services and technology company in the Life Sciences sector.  Customers of IMS Health’s data and consulting services include most of the top names in pharmaceutical, medical device and consumer health manufacturers and distributors, providers, payers, government agencies, policymakers, researchers and the financial community (www.imshealth.com).

Website:
www.imscg.com
Service Provider Type
Unique Capabilities
Life-Science focused and IMS Health resources
Mr David Olson
Mr David Olson
LinkedIn logo COO & CCO 
Sam Murphy
Vice President 
Filippo Petralia
Associate 

IR2Dx United States

IR2Dx Company Overview:

IR2Dx has developed a proprietary, breakthrough analysis and reporting system for multi-marker diagnostic test panels, to provide highly personalized treatment strategies for patients with Type 2 diabetes.  While control of glucose levels remains an important factor in the treatment of the disease, the IR2Dx platform evaluates the individual disease pathways for each patient, providing critical information regarding multiple markers and their overall pattern, all of which contribute to management of underlying disease.  This information can then be used by physicians to guide treatment decisions to deliver precision medicine in diabetes. 

Today, there are approximately 382 million people with diabetes in the world, and this number is expected to grow to 592 million by 2035.  The worldwide available market for early detection and drug response diabetes diagnostics is greater than $20 billion.  IR2Dx can enter the market within the current reimbursement and regulatory environments, and is ready to launch its first products in H1 2015 through commercial laboratories.

The IR2Dx platform provides personalized treatment information and recommendations to physicians based on a proprietary decision tree algorithm, greatly enhancing the clinical utility of a laboratory report.  Existing reimbursement levels for the panel markers in the U.S. and key international markets adequately cover the addition of the IR2Dx analysis and reporting. 

The platform is a software-based decision analysis tool. The analysis is performed on results from commercially available diagnostic tests run using standard laboratory bench top systems, requiring no tailored equipment, no custom design of the test system itself, and no capital investment.  Lab technicians upload the multi-marker panel testing results to the IR2Dx proprietary web portal to access the company’s decision support tool analysis product. In the initial commercialization phase, each laboratory will have a specific customized software product, and will pay for each report on a per-use basis. 

In the current U.S. regulatory environment for such products, with “health management IT functionalities”, such as the IR2Dx analysis and reporting system, near-term requirements for premarket review are unlikely, though the FDA may give additional guidance at any time. The IR2Dx platform is protected by a strong and broad intellectual property portfolio combining substantial data and know-how with issued patents in the U.S. and Europe. The company’s issued patents carry claims for use of its analysis platform and combination of markers for treatment guidance “with all glucose lowering drugs.”

 The company anticipates launch of the proprietary IR2Dx platform in H1 2015, introducing its first clinical decision support products through commercial laboratories. 

Year Founded
2008
Biotech Subsector
Medtech Subsector
Biotech Phase of Development
Medtech Phase of Development
Technology Overview

In 2002, IR2Dx company founders observed that anti-diabetic therapies reduced adverse cardiology events across multiple drug classes, while at the same time, cardiovascular drugs were reducing diabetes conversions. Further, it has long been recognized that cardiovascular disease is a comorbidity of diabetes. IR2Dx founders concluded that cardiovascular disease and Type 2 diabetes are manifestations of the same underlying conditions, and by analyzing information on relevant markers, treating physicians could be provided with information to help guide drug selection and assess drug response, making improved treatment possible. The research identified pathway biomarkers that significantly elucidate the evolution, and optimal treatment, of the disease while continuing to provide glucose control, throughout the treatment process with a patient. These biomarkers are: high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), intact proinsulin, insulin, adiponectin and C-peptide. Through the IR2Dx patented methods and systems of evaluating the baseline and subsequent levels of these markers, the physician is given a previously unavailable, cost effective window into the pathways and causes of his/her patient’s specific disease, with the opportunity to intervene therapeutically before the disease state progresses further. Specifically, the IR2Dx platform, for the first time in diabetes, provides physicians with easily accessible clinical information to aid in: • Assessment of the current state of a patient’s metabolic pathways; • Determination of the likely further progression of disease; and, • Determination of optimal treatment strategies for the patient.

Alliance & Collaborations
Discussions are underway with commercial laboratory and kit development partners.
Supporting Metrics or Evidence

To date, the IR2Dx diagnostic panel markers have been used prospectively on over 14,000 patients across 35 clinical trials, with over 40 publications. These studies validated the use of the panel markers, and covered patients at all stages of disease including prediabetes, across the range of anti-diabetic drug- classes. These studies demonstrated improvements in group mean HbA1c levels, the present standard for clinical success in the diabetes field.

Current Financing Needs

$12 million, can be staged to support commercial laboratory rollout and kit development ($5 million), and further clinical studies ($7 million).

Current Timeline

At commercialization

Current Investors

Friends & Family, Founders, Physicians

IP Status

Patents issued in US and Europe

Management Team Highlights

Highly Experienced Team. CEO has over 40 years in the diagnostics field (including 17 years at Abbott Diagnostics), and all management team members have over 30 years in biotech. Many of our key advisors are well recognized world leaders in diagnostics, diabetes and cancer.

Lesli Fellman
Founder / VP Finance 
Robert Maurer
CEO