July 26, 2023 | AI platform used for acute immune states, acquisitions, solutions portfolio expansion, and more.
$54M: Renewed Funding for All of Us Participant Engagement
Scripps Research announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has renewed funding for its Translational Institute to continue its work enrolling and engaging participants in the All of Us Research Program, a pioneering research program that has created one of the largest most diverse health databases of its kind to help accelerate precision medicine and decrease health disparities. $54 million will support Scripps Research Translational Institute’s work with a nationwide consortium to help build one of the largest, most diverse health research resources of its kind. The project is expected to last five years, with anticipated total funding of $282 million.
$50M: Establishing Triangle CERSI at Major Universities
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will award up to $50 million over five years to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University to establish the Research Triangle Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation. Triangle CERSI will work with FDA scientists to perform research to better inform and support the FDA’s needs. In partnership with the FDA, the goal of the center is to serve as an accelerator to meet the FDA’s evolving need to access the most current scientific knowledge. The center will provide essential new information, as well as infrastructure and tools to shorten the drug and device development process, to advance public health and to inform regulatory decision making and guidance documents that complements and enhances other CERSIs.
$40.5M: Researching Alzheimer’s Disease in Asian American and Asian Canadians
A $40.5 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), will fund the Asian Cohort for Alzheimer’s Disease (ACAD) study at Penn Medicine and 15 other academic research centers across the United States and Canada. The grant will allow researchers to analyze the genetic data from the samples to identify risk variants in the Asian American and Asian Canadian population, compared to other populations and to those living in Asia.
$32M: Series B for Further Development of Treatment Research and Clinical Trials
SURGE Therapeutics announced the completion of a $32 million Series B financing led by Bioluminescence Ventures, with participation from KdT Ventures, Piedmont Capital, and existing investors 8VC, Alumni Ventures, Camford Capital, Cancer Research Institute, Intuitive Ventures, Khosla Ventures, and Pitango HealthTech. The funding will be used to further develop the SURGE intraoperative immunotherapy approach, expand the team, and advance multiple clinical trials for its injectable biodegradable hydrogel, which may be administered during any surgical oncology procedure.
$27M: Series B for Solutions Portfolio Expansion
Gleamer announced a Series B financing of €27 million led by Supernova Invest, co-led by Heal Capital and backed by Gleamer’s long-term partners XAnge, Elaia, Bpifrance via the funds Digital Venture and F3A from France 2030, MACSF, Crista Galli Ventures, and UI Investissement, as well as several European radiologists. This investment will expand Gleamer’s portfolio of solutions, strengthen its European and American teams, and accelerate its international development plans. By extending its portfolio of solutions to CT scans and mammography, Gleamer will cover 70% of radiologists' daily needs.
$19.3M: Improving Outcomes for Breast Cancer Patients
Susan G. Komen announced the awarding of 49 new grants to researchers at 28 leading institutions in the U.S. The $19.3 million supports Komen's mission to end breast cancer through funding two focus areas: advancing precision medicine and eliminating disparities in breast cancer outcomes, while continuing Komen's commitment to supporting the next generation of diverse leaders in breast cancer research.
$16.7M: Acquisition to Expand Post-Covid-19 Strategy
Novacyt UK has agreed to purchase UK-based genomic medicine company Yourgene Health in a £16.7 million deal. The deal is expected to close in September 2023. Novacyt said the acquisition is in line with its post-Covid-19 strategy to shore up its long-term growth, with the company aiming to diversify its portfolio and continue geographic expansion. Yourgene Health will bring reproductive health expertise to Novacyt, focusing on screening products for non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT).
$11.5M: Combating a Life-Threatening Illness
Florida Atlantic University received a $11.5 million gift from Boca Raton philanthropists Ann and John Wood of the FairfaxWood Scholarship Foundation. This funding will enable Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine to create a game-changing infrastructure that will combat amyloidosis, a life-threatening disease that can be present throughout the body, including the heart, kidneys, liver and brain, that currently has no cure. The funding will establish the FairfaxWood Health & Innovation Technology Initiative, which will focus on the FAU Amyloidosis Project.
$6.2M: Furthering Research on Neurological Autoimmune Diseases
The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the collaborative project with €6.2 million to Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin for a new Clinical Research Unit called BecauseY. The BecauseY Clinical Research Unit at Charité and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) does research on antibody-mediated neurological diseases. This grant will allow expansion on eight subprojects, all dealing with the intersection between autoimmunity and neuroscience and clustered within three thematic areas of emphasis: understanding mechanisms of disease, diagnosis, and next-generation selective immune therapies.
$4.8M: AI for Acute Immune States
Prenosis has been awarded two Phase 2 SBIR grants totaling $4.8 million in funding by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), a division of the National Institute of Health (NIH). The grants will study the use of Prenosis's Immunix Artificial Intelligence platform for acute immune states. The goal is to better understand how patients' health states rapidly evolve in acute care environments. The outcomes of these studies could usher in a new era of predictive diagnostics, clinical decision support tools, improved clinical trials, and precision medicine drugs for sepsis.
$1.9M: “Fastball” Test for Alzheimer’s Disease
Cumulus Neuroscience received an Invention for Innovation (i4i) grant of $1.9 million (£1.5 million) from the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). This grant will enable development and validation of the Fastball electroencephalogram (EEG) test. Cumulus Neuroscience also partnered with the Universities of Bath and Bristol on development of the Fastball electroencephalogram (EEG) test, an innovative diagnostic test for earlier detection of Alzheimer's Dementia (AD).