Partners RVL has helped pair investors with leading medical technology research – paving the way for new medical technology companies and startups.
The list of medical startup companies below represent companies based on technologies from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital.
Alopexx Pharmaceuticals develops and explores target based immunotherapies for the treatment and prevention of Methicillin-resistant S. Aureus (MRSA) and other serious infections. The underlying technology was licensed from BWH, based on the work of Gerald Pier, PhD. In 2010, Sanofi-Aventis exercised its option to acquire an exclusive and worldwide license of Alopexx's F598 antibody following review of the results generated during its collaboration period with Alopexx. The deal could reach $375MM in total for development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, in addition to royalties on sales of products commercialized under the license and collaboration.
BIND Biosciences is a biopharmaceutical company founded by Robert Langer, ScD, of MIT and Omid Farokhzad, MD, of BWH to develop therapeutic targeted nanoparticles to produce best in class drugs. Initial product development efforts are in the areas of oncology, cardiovascular disorders, inflammatory disease and RNAi therapeutics. BIND’s lead program, BIND-014, targets a surface protein upregulated in solid tumors and entered clinical development in a Phase 1 clinical study in patients with solid tumors.
Investors include Flagship Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners, Arch Venture Partners, Endeavor Vision, and Nanodimension.
BioBehavioral Diagnostics was formed in 2004 to develop instrumentation for objective assessment and management of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), including medication response. The technology, developed by Martin Teichler, MD, PhD, at McLean Hospital, utilizes a set of proprietary bio-surrogate measurements to enable the accurate assessment and management of ADHD. The company has recently introduced the product as an integrated system marketed to psychiatrists, pediatricians, neurologists and other physicians who treat behavioral disorders.
Combinent Biomedical Systems is a women’s healthcare company co-founded by William Crowley, Jr. MD, of MGH and Robert Langer, Jr. ScD, of MIT. It focuses on transvaginal delivery of drugs targeting women’s reproductive endocrinology disorders. Its proprietary platform allows for the systemic delivery of large and small molecule drugs, the user-friendly delivery of combination therapies in a single intervention and has been validated in humans.
Co-investors include VIMAC Ventures, Commons Capital and
Daktari Diagnostics is focused exclusively on the most pressing challenges in global health. The company develops simple, accurate, and affordable products that deliver critical diagnostic information to clinicians and patients across the globe.
Daktari’s initial product is a handheld CD4 cell counter that will enable CD4 counting to be done by anyone, anywhere. The underlying technology was licensed from MGH based on the work of Bill Rodriguez, MD, and Mehmet Toner, PhD. Combining groundbreaking innovation in microscale technologies with simplicity in design and use, Daktari’s CD4 counter will bring this essential blood test to parts of the world where millions of people now have access to life-saving drugs, yet cannot begin treatment due to inadequate diagnostics.
Co-investors include Norwich Ventures and angel investors.
Exosome Diagnostics is developing body fluid-based cancer diagnostics using its exosome-based technology for disease stratification and patient response monitoring. The underlying technology was licensed from MGH, based on the work of Xandra Breakefield, PhD and Johan Skog, PhD. Exosome Diagnostics' technology allows for minimally invasive testing of cancer specific genes from standard blood and urine samples.
Investors include NGN Capital, Forbion Capital Partners, and Angel investors.
Fate Therapeutics is interrogating adult stem cell biology and applying induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology to develop stem cell modulators, small molecule or biologic compounds that guide cell fate for therapeutic purposes. The underlying technology was licensed from MGH, based on the work of David Scadden, MD. Fate’s approach has broad therapeutic potential in areas such as regenerative medicine, hematological diseases, metastatic cancer, traumatic injury and degenerative diseases.
Investors include Venrock, Polaris Venture Partners, Arch Venture Partners, OVP Venture Partners, Astellas Venture Management, Genzyme, Becton Dickinson, and Takeda Ventures.
Healthrageous is an interactive, personalized, self-managed wellness company based on biometric data, technology, and personalized coaching and social support. The underlying technology was licensed from Partners Center for Connected Health, based on the work of Joseph Kvedar, MD.
Investors include North Bridge Venture Partners, Egan-Managed Capital, and Long River Ventures.
HSV-2 Vaccine Feng Yao, PhD, BWH has demonstrated a prototype herpes vaccine. Prevention of herpes-2 infection has been a long sought after goal that may be achievable with this innovative approach utilizing a proprietary gene switch mechanism. Partners Innovation Fund is funding the pre-clinical development of a vaccine trial candidate for future licensing.
Life Image, Inc. is a company developing a web-based service to help eliminate problems associated with lack of access to patients’ medical-imaging history. The company has developed a series of applications to allow sharing of medical image studies both locally and through a cloud infrastructure. Local image Inboxes are used for uploading and storing incoming patient CDs, while the cloud-based Inboxes are designed for sharing exams and reports with referring physicians and patients, eventually eliminating the need to create CDs in order to share an image file with a user outside the imaging site. This solution, including a portion of the technology developed by Keith Dryer, MD, PhD, and Tom Schultz at MGH, offers access and sharing of patient imaging information.
Co-investors include Cardinal Partners, Galen Partners, EMC, MTDC, and Long River Ventures.
MoMelan Technologies has developed a novel skin grafting technology to treat skin disorders through the expansion of the surface area of skin grafts based on technology developed by Rox Anderson, MD, and licensed from MGH. The company’s elegant device-based technology is lower cost, more effective, and more widely applicable than any existing technology. Initial application is for the treatment of vitiligo, a disorder that causes depigmentation of patches of skin.
Investors include Mass Medical Angels, LaunchCapital, Life Science Angels, BioVentures Investors, and KLP Enterprises.
NinePoint Medical, Inc. is a medical device company integrating multiple technologies to streamline patient care. A core portion of the underlying technology was licensed from MGH, based on technologies developed by Gary Tearney, MD, PhD, and Brett Bouma, PhD. NinePoint is initially developing novel products for use during minimally invasive procedures such as endoscopy and laparoscopy to provide enhanced diagnostic capabilities and improve outcomes.
Investors include Third Rock Ventures and Prospect Venture Partners.
NKT Therapeutics is a biotechnology company focused on developing therapeutics based on a unique subset of immune cells called natural killer T (”NKT”) cells. The underlying technology was licensed from MGH, based on the work of Brian Wilson, MD.
Investors include SV Life Sciences and MedImmune.
On-Q-Ity employs a proprietary microfluidic chip technology to capture, enumerate, and molecularly characterize circulating tumor cells from a sample of blood. The underlying technology was licensed from MGH, based on the work of Mehmet Toner, PhD and Daniel Haber, MD, PhD. This technology, combined with proprietary validated proteomic biomarkers from the DNA repair pathway, will enable physicians to identify the unique characteristics of an individual’s cancer, predict response to therapies and monitor the progress of treatment.
Investors include Mohr Davidow Ventures, Atlas Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Northgate Capital Group, and Physic Ventures.
Provasculon was formed in 2008 under the aegis of the Biogen-Idec incubator to develop new therapeutic agents for addressing peripheral vascular disease and myocardial infarction damage. The technology is based on discoveries of modified recombinant natural human growth factors by Richard Lee, MD, Vincent Segers, MD, from the BWH.
RaNA is discovering and developing drugs to improve health for patients by modulating disease-associated long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), thereby restoring normal expression of individual targeted genes. The technology platform is based on thousands of gene-associated lncRNA's that contain binding regions for epigenetic regulatory proteins such as PRC2. Our lead products are designed to specifically block the binding of the transcriptional repressor complex PRC2 to individual lncRNA regions, thus inducing the expression of the associated target gene. RaNA Therapeutics was founded based on technology developed in the laboratory of Scientific Founder Jeannie T. Lee, MD, PhD, and exclusively licensed from MGH.
Resolvyx is pioneering the development of Resolvin therapeutics, an entirely new class of medicines that treat disease by activating the body's own pathways to shut off inflammation. The primary underlying technology was licensed from BWH, based on the work of Charles Serhan, PhD. Resolvins are naturally-occurring, small molecule lipid mediators with the potential to treat a wide range of inflammatory diseases. Recently, Celtic Therapeutics acquired worldwide rights related to Resolvyx’s RX-10045, a late-stage program for the treatment of dry eye syndrome and other ophthalmic conditions.
Investors include Flagship Ventures, Atlas Ventures, CHL Medical Partners, Agman Partners, Biogen Idec, Care Capital, QVT Financial, and Radius Ventures.
Sebacia is developing a novel curative procedure for acne. The technology was licensed from MGH, based on the work of Rox Anderson, MD.
Selecta Biosciences, Inc. is developing first-in-class integrated synthetic nanoparticle vaccines using its proprietary targeted Synthetic Vaccine Particle (tSVP™) technology. The underlying technology was licensed from BWH, based on the work of Omid Farokhzad, MD. Selecta’s synthetic nanoparticle vaccines enable expanded opportunities for both the treatment and prevention of a wide range of human diseases including infectious, CNS, metabolic and inflammatory diseases.
Investors include Flagship Ventures, Polaris Venture Partners, Nanodimension, Leukon Invetsments, and OrbiMed Advisors.
Synovex is a company developing novel treatments for rheumatoid arthritis based on discoveries by Michael Brenner, MD, and David Lee, MD, PhD, at the BWH related to disease-related adhesion proteins found in the synovial fluid.
Co-investors include Healthcare Ventures, MedImmune, SR One, and Amgen.
T2 Biosystems T2 Biosystems is a private biotechnology company developing next-generation medical diagnostic products using its proprietary technology, combining nanotechnology and miniaturized magnetic resonance (MR) technology to provide rapid, accurate and portable diagnostics. T2 Biosystems was founded in 2006 by researchers Robert Langer, PhD, Michael Cima, PhD and Tyler Jacks, PhD from MIT, and Ralph Weissleder, MD, PhD, and Lee Josephson, PhD from MGH.
Investors include Flagship Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, Polaris Venture Partners, In-Q-Tel, Partners HealthCare System, Physic Ventures, Arcus Ventures, Camros Capital, RA Capital Management, and WS Investments.
TargAnox, Inc. An early-stage discovery company developing novel therapeutics for the treatment of diseases and conditions that result from oxidative stress-induced modification of proteins. The company was founded based on technologies developed at BWH by Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD.
The first round investors are Ascent Biomedical Ventures and the Partners Innovation Fund.
Tempero Pharmaceuticals Tempero is developing next-generation therapies that selectively suppress Th17-cells and enhance specialized Treg cells. The modulation of select arms of the immune response are predicted to effectively treat autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis and type 1 diabetes without broad suppression of the immune system. Tempero was formed by GlaxoSmithKline’s Immuno-Inflammation Center of Excellence in Drug Discovery (iiCEDD) in combination with intellectual property in the field of Th17 developed through the work of Vijay Kuchroo, DVM, PhD, and licensed from BWH.
VisionScope Technologies, LLC A company manufacturing a family of patented sub-2-mm diameter needle endoscopes with disposable optics and sterile barrier sheaths for diagnostic and minimally invasive surgical (MIS) applications. The product, developed by Tom Gill, IV. MD, at MGH, enables arthroscopy surgeons to visualize, diagnose and plan surgical procedures within several minutes in one single office appointment, thereby substantially reducing the number of physician appointments and the usage of MRI’s typically required for one complete arthroscopy surgery cycle.
ZELTIQ™ ZELTIQ™ is medical device company dedicated to the development of non-invasive procedures for the reduction of unwanted fat. The device is cleared by the FDA in the United States for various applications related to skin cooling during dermatologic treatments, with a pending application for non-invasive body fat reduction. Based on a method to kill only fat cells, the company uses a novel method named Cryolipolysis™ (the use of precisely controlled cooling to remove fat) invented by Dieter Manstein, MD, and R. Rox Anderson, MD, from The Wellman Center at MGH.
Investors include ATV, Frazier Healthcare Ventures, Venrock, Individuals’ Venture Fund, and Aisling Capital.