More well thought out work can be found at — https://axial.substack.com/
Axial invests and partners in early-stage life sciences companies. If you or someone you know has a great idea or company in life sciences, Axial would be excited to get to know you and possibly invest in your vision and company — info@axialsprawl.com
Life Sciences Financings and Commentary #6 - May 2, 2020 - May 8, 2020
Financings
Number of deals: 15 & Total capital invested: ~$1.2B
- Braid Health raised $9M led by Lux Capital to improve radiology analysis and workflow. PathAI is the behemoth here.
- Every Mother raised $1.5M led by Courtside Ventures to develop a fitness program for pre/post-natal women.
- First Dollar raised $5M led by Next Coast Ventures to scale up their HSA product.
- Genetesis raised $9.2M from CincyTech, Ohio Innovation Fund, and Mark Cuban to continue development of their CardioFlux product to measure the magnetic fields produced by the heart for non-invasive diagnostics.
- GRAIL raised $390M led by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to continue the company’s work around pan-cancer early-detection liquid biopsy tests.
- Impossible Foods raised $500M led by Mirae Asset Global Investments to continue scaling up their plant-based food business - https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-02/beyond-meat-s-4-billion-rival-is-said-in-fresh-funding-talks
- LetsGetChecked raised $71M co-led by Illumina Ventures and HLM Venture Partners to commercialize their at-home testing products; things like STDs and COVID-19.
- Lifebit Biotech raised $7.5M led by Idinvest Partners to bring federated learning to genomics. Federating learning is a really exciting invention - https://ai.googleblog.com/2017/04/federated-learning-collaborative.html
- Limbix raised $9M led by GSR Ventures to develop their digital health product for adolescent mental health.
- Medable raised $25M led by GSR Ventures to commercialize their distributed clinical trial product.
- Monogram Health raised $7M co-led by Norwest Venture Partners and Frist Cressey Ventures to build software-enabled services for kidney care particularly around predicting progression of disease.
- Owkin raised $25M led by Bpifrance to bring federated learning to medical research.
- RWDC Industries raised $133M with Vickers Venture Partners and Flint Hills Resources co-leading the round to commercialize their Solon product, a biodegradable polymer called PHA (polyhydroxylalkanoate).
- Ventus Therapeutics raised $60M led by Versant Ventures to target the inflammasome; Russell Vance, an incredible inventor, is an advisor.
- Wellth raised $10M co-led by Yabeo and Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund to bring behavioral economics to improve patient adherence to healthcare plans/recommendations.
Exits
Number of exits: 6 & Total exit value: ~$2.2B
- Ayala Pharmaceuticals filed to raised $50M in an IPO to bring their gamma secretase inhibitors for bloods cancers through the clinic - https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1797336/000119312520065057/d846749ds1.htm
- IlluminOss Medical a producer of fracture repair products, was acquired by Healthpoint Capital for an undisclosed amount.
- Orbis Biosciences a microcapsule drug delivery company was acquired by Adare Pharmaceuticals (TPG Capital) for an undisclosed amount.
- Portola Pharmaceuticals was acquired by Alexion Pharmaceuticals for $1.41B to diversify its pipeline and bring Portola’s Andexxa medicine (coagulation factor Xa) under its umbrella - https://www.biospace.com/article/alexion-snaps-up-portola-pharmaceuticals-in-1-41-billion-deal/
- Precept, a manufacturer of disposable face masks and gowns, was acquired by Aspen Surgical Products (Audax Private Equity) for an undisclosed amount.
- Stemline Therapeutics was acquired by the Menarini Group for ~$620M in cash and ~$50M in commercial milestones to acquire their CD123 medicine for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm and get a US presence - https://xconomy.com/new-york/2020/05/04/stemline-slated-for-acquisition-by-menarini-in-deal-worth-up-to-677m/
I used to play football a long time ago - I had some decent success mainly because of my teammates with some of them playing in the NFL. Every practice, every game was an existential fight. I’m not that athletic so every year some 6’4 monster would show up trying to take my spot. Similarly, all of these companies are fighting for their right to exist whether they raised $1M or $100M. Building a great business requires passion and focus. A really powerful and useful framework to lead groups of people and win was developed by Bill Walsh -