Early-stage life science fund BioAdvance announced that it has added an array of new companies to its portfolio, investing nearly $3.2 million into companies from the mid-Atlantic region of the U.S.
Two of the firm’s largest investments went to Opsidio, a Bryn Mawr, Penn.-based company developing monoclonal antibodies to treat fibrotic diseases, and New York-based Pillo Health, which is working on an interactive home healthcare hub. Both companies landed $500,000 contributions from BioAdvance.
“Our goal is to invest more money into the region’s rich innovation pipeline this fiscal year than in prior years, while maintaining our investment standards, and we achieved that goal in the first six months,” CEO Barbara Schilberg said in prepared remarks.
“We continue to see an interesting diversity of early-stage opportunities leading to new investments – with more in the pipeline – plus we continue to support our current companies as they progress. We are pleased to continue our role as an active life sciences investor in the region.”
BioAdvance also contributed $400,000 apiece to Oncoro Medical, which is developing a product that integrates patient EMR, genetic information and imaging data to create personalized radiation treatment plans, and to PeriRx, a Broomall, Penn.-based company creating a saliva-based molecular test to detect lung cancer.
Other investments included a $500,000 contribution to TalexMedical, which is commercializing a non-surgical ear molding device to correct misshapen ears in newborns, a $250,000 investment in a company developing anti-infective agents to fight drug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens, VenatoRx, and a $370,000 bid to Relmada Therapeutics, which is testing a compound for major depressive disorder.
Finally, the life science fund invested $50,000 into Curative Orthopedics, which is developing non-invasive orthopedic products to relieve night-time back pain, $30,000 into Enzium, which is developing assays for the detection of direct-acting oral anticoagulant levels based on proteases, $150,000 into WellSheet, which is developing a product that brings together EHR content into a one-page sheet for the doctor, and $40,000 into Group K Diagnostics, which is developing a point-of-care microfluidic diagnostic device.
