Capital Raising Activity

Grail, based in Menlo Park, CA,  seeks another $1.0B prior to IPO listing on Hong Kong Exchange

Cancer blood test developer is reportedly considering another $1.0B funding prior to going public. The heart of the technology is the discovery of cancer in the blood prior to appearance of symptoms. Plan is to recruit over 130K patients for the studies.

Last year the company raised $900M from a variety of investors including Jeff Bezos, Tencent and Bill Gates. Grail is hoping to launch its first product, an early screening test for nasopharyngeal cancer later this year in Asia.

Cancer is the #1 disease that has baffled scientists for decades. The industry has done a heroic job in finding ways to cure the disease. But predicting and preventing is a whole other story. We are very excited about the prospects of liquid biopsy.

Insurer, Oscar Health of New York, NY raises $165M at $3.2B up from $2.7B valuation

Brian Singerman and Founders Fund were the leads with GV, Khosla Ventures and other participating. 2017 saw the first year of underwriting profit for the company. Which collected $1.0B in gross premium revenue ($229M net). Bottom line the company lost $127MM. Oscar expects to have 250K members by the end of 2018.

Given the mounting losses, there was some doubt about the validity of Oscar’s model, We think the company has turned the corner. Oscar laid some of its underwriting risk to other insurers including AXA. They are becoming better risks managers.

Mountain View, CA-based Livongo Health, the digital chronic disease management company, secures another $105M funding and inks a deal with the insurer Cambia Health Solutions

This brings total funding to $240M. Livongo is another chronic disease management company similar to  Omada. The funding was provided by insiders including Kleiner Perkins and others. There were no new investors invited to the round. Cambia which has two million members will now roll out Livongo’s services across its membership[p. The funds will be used for further investment in data science and providing more end to end solutions.

GA invests in Francisco-backed Landmark Health based in Latham, NY

Landmark is an in-home, risk-based company that delivers home-based medical care for chronically ill. Over 80,000 patients are served under the company’s umbrella. Landmark is represented in six states including NY and CA and plans to expand to additional markets.

Cancer-fighting Tempus Labs, based in Chicago, IL raises $80M from NEA and T. Rowe Price

This brings total funding to $210M. The company which employs 400 people, uses machine learning and genomic sequencing to better understand a patient’s tumor and it tailors treatment plans accordingly. The company is building a molecular clinical library with its own operating system. Indeed a novel idea.

Diabetes care start-up, Bigfoot Biomedical, based in Milpitas, CA closes Series B for $55M bringing the total capital raise to $90M.

Abbott, led the round for this AI-driven diabetes company and will be providing measurement sensors to the company. Bigfoot’s technology uses connected devices like smartphones as well as machine learning to automate insulin delivery for individuals with type 1 diabetes and insulin requiring type 2 diabetes. The company expects their first product launch in late 2020.

Welltok, healthcare engagement platform based in Denver, CO raises $75M Series E

This brings total funding to $240M. The fund raise is on the heels of the company’s acquisition of Tea Leaves Health, an analytics and consumer marketing company. At the core of Welltok’s value proposition is its CafeWell Health Optimization Platform which connects consumers with available and relevant benefits. We foresee more M&A in the offering for Welltok.

San Francisco, CA- based Doctor on Demand raises Series C funding for $75M

This brings total funding to $160M. Doctor on Demand is in the crowded space of telemedicine. The company differentiates itself on a few fronts. For one, they are represented in all 50 states. Via the mobile app, patients can access doctors and psychiatrists as well as psychologists. The app also facilitates lab ordering where the order is automatically sent to the nearest testing facility to the patient.

Accolade, the corporate wellness company based in Plymouth Meeting, PA raises $50M from Andreessen Horowitz, McKesson Ventures and Carrick Capital

This brings total funding to close to $210M. The company has spent the past two years building a robust technology platform that not only caters  to its existing large clients such as Comcast but also the mid-market companies; a new market segment for Accolade. 

The company has 850 employees with multiple offices nationwide. 

Vitra Health, the diabetes reversal clinic based in San Francisco, CA raises $45M

Founders Fund and Venrock participated in the round. The company’s clinically-proven treatment serves type 2 diabetes and other chronic metabolic diseases without the use of medication.

Real-World Evidence platform, Aetion, based in New York, NY nabs $36M Series B

NEA led the round with Amgen as participant. This round  will bring total funding to $50M. Aetion helps bio pharma and payers understand how drugs work in the real world. This is a novel way for payers to construct value based reimbursement models. Additionally drug companies can use the platform in different phases of the drug development and delivery process. We like the idea. Execution is the key here.

CAR-T therapy logistics software company, Vineti, based in San Francisco, CA, bags $33.4M in Series B

GE Ventures and Mayo Clinic founded the company two years ago with a Series A funding of $14M.

CAR T- cell therapy is one of the most revolutionary technologies in medicine. Essentially the technology uses the patient’s own blood as part of the treatment. But the process is cumbersome and complex in need of massive orchestration by several parties. These parties include hospitals, blood banks, manufactures involved in the production of personalized therapy, etc. Very smart idea with lots of potential.

Inari of Irvine, CA, a clot removing device maker secures $27M of funding in Series C

This is Inari’s second FDA approved device which gives the company a portfolio of two catheter-based technologies for treating venous thromboembolism; removing large clots from big vessels. The last two rounds of funding were $4.7M in A round and $12.4 in B round. Gilde Healthcare led the round with Versant Ventures and others participating.

BioIQ, the multi-channel communication company and based in Santa Barbara, CA raises $26.5M Series G, bringing total funding to $48M

The company works with some of the largest health plans, employers and providers as well as retail pharmacies and labs. BioIQ facilitates consumer navigation and secure exchange of healthcare data amongst different constituents with the aim of facilitating measurement programs from a single console.

Arboretum Ventures ad HealthQuest Capital participated in the round.

Mint Health, a healthcare blockchain company and based in San Diego, CA raises $23M

We will start to see more healthcare blockchain companies that will address functions from patient identity to smart contracts and RCM functions. Mint Health allows healthcare businesses to access a portable/secure and patient controlled repository of clinical and behavioral data. The system also rewards patient behaviors to increase ROI for at-risk entities.

Elligo Health Research, a clinical research infrastructure company and based in Austin, TX raises $16M Series B

Physicians can use the platform to enroll their patients into clinical trial. The solution uses electronic health records and other health data to identify real-world patients and physicians for participation in clinical studies. We like this model.

Referral company, RubiconMD of New York, NY raises $13.8M

HLM and Optum Ventures led the round. The platform connects primary care doctors with specialists The company launched its first offering in 2013. Series A was for $4.0M raised in mid-2016. We are a fan.

Parsely Health, a primary services company, of New York, NY secures $13M in funding.

The company offers primary care services with a twist. You need to become a member. After that you enroll into a full primary care program that is tailor made for the individual. The pitch here is that the visits last almost an hour and the care is deep, personalized and collaborative. There is always room for high-touch personal care.

AI-powered biometric recognition company, Element, based New York, NY, lands $12M in funding in Series A

The solution is a mobile-based software platform using biometric identity (both online and offline), using any type of smartphone or tablet to access the service. The platform uses facial, palm and fingerprint technologies. The solutions are currently used for immunization platforms in Asia and Africa.

Physician network optimization company, Kyruus, based in Boston,, MA  raises $10M

The company deals with both providers and payers. The software attempts to match the patient with the right physician; decreasing no shows and increasing physician productivity. The company has raised over $80M to date.

Open Trons of Brooklyn, NY, a laboratory robotics company, raises $10M

OpenTrons provides lab robots for biologists. The system automates sterile pipetting and other related applications. This brings total funding to $17.3M.