Company is pioneering a novel approach by targeting fibrotic mediators that drive disease progression

Portfolio comprises three targets, each of which is measurable in plasma and correlates with disease severity

Proceeds will advance programs into clinical studies in 2024; Lead asset on-track to candidate nomination in Q2 2023

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., March 15, 2023 — Mediar Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company advancing a portfolio of first-in-class therapies that halt and even reverse the course of fibrosis, today announced a $105M financing, including a recent $85 million Series A round co-led by Novartis Venture Fund and Sofinnova Partners and with participation from Pfizer Ventures, Mission BioCapital, Gimv, Pureos, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly & Company, Ono Venture Investment and Mass General Brigham Ventures. Mediar was founded on pioneering fibrosis research from Mass General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals in partnership with Mass General Brigham Ventures with the goal to transform the treatment of fibrotic disease by targeting the myofibroblast, the key cell type driving fibrosis progression. Mediar is led by industry veterans, Chief Executive Officer Rahul Ballal, Ph.D. and Chief Scientific Officer Paul Yaworsky, Ph.D. Dr. Ballal joins Mediar with nearly 20 years of experience in biotech and was most recently CEO of Imara, which recently merged with Enliven Therapeutics. Dr. Yaworsky joined Mediar in 2019 after a successful 21-year career at Pfizer, most recently serving as the COO of inflammation and immunology research. Joining the Mediar board is Nandita Shangari, Ph.D., from Novartis Venture Fund, Maina Bhaman, MBA, from Sofinnova Partners, and Andreas Jurgeit, Ph.D., from Gimv.

Mediar’s portfolio comprises three novel targets that are readily detectible in blood and correlate to disease severity, enabling a de-risked approach to clinical development. The series A financing will support advancement of the company’s portfolio of first-in-class antibody treatments, which offer unique potential to address fibrosis at varying stages of the disease, with two programs advancing into human studies in 2024.

“We are applying a precision approach to our fibrosis programs to improve the odds of success in human proof-of-concept studies and identify the right patients for each therapy,” said Chief Executive Officer Rahul Ballal, Ph.D. “The support of this broad syndicate of investors enables us to leverage our deep insights into fibrosis pathology and drive meaningful clinical impact in the treatment landscape.”

“We are particularly excited about our lead WISP-1 program, which is near candidate selection and has advanced largely through investigations in primary human preclinical systems,” said Chief Scientific Officer Paul Yaworsky, Ph.D. He continued, “We are also progressing promising leads from our two other first-in-class portfolio programs into preclinical in-vivo proof-of-concept studies.”

Fibrosis contributes to 45 percent of deaths in the industrialized world¹ and is among the most complicated chronic pathologies due to an expansive and complex network of interwoven biological pathways. Current therapeutic approaches mainly focus on the initiators of fibrosis that modulate the underlying immune responses known to drive disease onset. However, the pursuit of these initiators may disrupt related pro-inflammatory pathways that defend the body against illness and can lead to treatment-limiting safety concerns. Mediar is focused on targeting fibrotic mediators that drive disease progression and potentially avoid the limitations of current approaches.

“Mediar brings deep research insights and a robust understanding of fibrotic disease,” said Maina Bhaman, partner at Sofinnova Partners. “These strengths, coupled with a focus on pursuing unexplored pathways that drive fibrosis progression, position the company to change the way the disease is addressed and potentially achieve meaningful therapeutic impact. We are excited to have Rahul and Paul at the helm of this unique effort.”

¹ Friedman, SL, et al. (2013). Sci Transl Med, 5(167), 167sr1.

About Mediar Therapeutics
Mediar Therapeutics is a biotechnology company pioneering a new approach to fibrosis treatment that halts the disease at a different source – the fibrotic mediators that drive disease progression. Mediar was founded based on a deep understanding of the complex science underlying fibrosis onset and progression. By combining novel targets with reliable, easily detectable blood biomarkers and familiar modalities, Mediar is derisking the path forward for fibrosis therapies in clinical development. For more information, contact [email protected] or follow us on LinkedIn.

SOURCE Mediar Therapeutics

JUPITER, Fla., March 14, 2023 — Myosin Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company leveraging its innovative platform technology to identify new molecular entities capable of selectively targeting nanomotor proteins, announced today that it supplemented its National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding with a seed funding round to advance the company’s lead programs on glioblastoma and stimulant use disorder.

Myosin Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) is developing its lead compound, MT-125, to treat glioblastoma, which is a highly aggressive form of brain cancer with a 95% fatality rate and limited treatment options available. In early models, MT-125 has shown that it can simultaneously arrest cancer cell division and migration, and therefore could be a first-in-class therapy. The Company believes that this funding should allow it to reach IND filing for MT-125.

Stimulant use disorder, which includes dependence on drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine, affects millions of people worldwide, is associated with significant morbidity and mortality, and has no FDA-approved treatments. The Company believes that this capital infusion along with existing funding from the National Institute of Health should provide the funding needed to advance Myosin Therapeutics’ other lead compound, MT-110, for stimulant use disorders through Phase 1 clinical trials.

“We are excited to receive this funding, which will allow us to rapidly advance our first-in-class treatments for glioblastoma and stimulant use disorder, two devastating conditions that lack effective treatments,” said Dr. Courtney Miller, co-founder of Myosin Therapeutics. “Our platform for targeting the largely untapped families of nanomotor proteins represents a unique and promising strategy for oncology, in particular.”

The seed funding round was led by Mint12 Pharma, LLC, with participation from the University of Florida Ventures, DeepWork Capital, and the Florida Opportunity Fund. Mint12 Pharma’s Managing Partner, Dave Adams, said, “We are thrilled to partner with Myosin Therapeutics to develop innovative therapies for these two conditions that currently lack effective treatment. Myosin’s nanomotor platform has tremendous potential and we look forward to seeing the company’s progress in the coming years.”

About Myosin Therapeutics. Myosin Therapeutics is a Jupiter, FL-based biotechnology company spun out of The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute (formerly Scripps Research, Florida) focused on develop therapies for central nervous system and oncology indications with a platform for targeting molecular nanomotor proteins. The company’s lead programs for glioblastoma and stimulant use disorder target myosin motor proteins, which play a critical role in a wide range of cellular processes. Myosin Therapeutics was founded in 2020 by Drs. Courtney Miller, Patrick Griffin, and Theodore Kamenecka. To learn more about the company, please visit www.myosintherapeutics.com.

Mint12 Pharma invests in new patented core pharmaceutical and biotech technologies that have the potential to address fast growing and underserved markets with no current FDA approved therapies by providing financing, placing new executive management to support existing scientific leadership, and governance oversight. Mint12 Pharma provides Seed and Series A financing to companies and is led by an experienced team of Pharma/Biotech operators and investing professionals.

SOURCE Myosin Therapeutics Inc.

SEATTLE, March 14, 2023 — Black Brilliance Research (BBR) is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded an Internet for All Grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. BBR won the grant in partnership with the University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) for the Connect Across Tacoma project. The funding, part of the administration’s commitment to expanding internet access in underserved communities, will provide Black Brilliance Research with nearly $3 million to support its efforts to promote digital equity and inclusion.

The Connect Across Tacoma project distributes laptops to in-need students and members of the Tacoma community through the Black Brilliance Research Project, enrolls households with Internet subscriptions, and provides Digital Stewards to train digital literacy in the community. These digital equity initiatives align with the vision of Governor Jay Inslee, who has been aggressively working to ensure all Washingtonians have digital access.

The Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All Initiative to connect everyone in the United States with affordable, reliable high-speed Internet service. This program directs $268 million from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 for expanding high-speed Internet access and connectivity to eligible HBCUs, Tribal Colleges or Universities (TCUs), and other Minority-serving institutions (MSIs). The BBR and UWT team was awarded $2.9 million from this fund.

“We are honored to receive this grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program and to be recognized for our work promoting digital equity and inclusion,” said Shaun Glaze, Lead Researcher and Director of Black Brilliance Research. “This funding will allow us to continue our efforts to bridge the digital divide and empower underserved communities with the tools and resources they need to thrive in the digital age.”

Black Brilliance Research intentionally amplifies the power of lived experience to create a world where everyone can thrive. The team is a Black-led collaboration of community members and organizations in Seattle, Washington, and surrounding areas. BBR assembled during the George Floyd uprisings to center the Black community in conversations about Black liberation. This grant will feature the work of teams in Tacoma and Pierce County in Washington.

“We believe that access to the internet is a basic human right and that everyone should have the opportunity to participate fully in the digital economy,” said Chris Webb, M.S.I. “This grant will help us to expand our reach and empower us to continue our work training community members to create their own digital and economic futures.”

The Biden-Harris Administration’s Internet for All Grants program is part of the American Rescue Plan, which includes more than $175 million in funding to expand internet access and digital equity initiatives in underserved communities nationwide.

“We are inspired by the Detroit Community Technology Project, a Black-led national leader and originator in community-based technology and digital equity. We’re excited to collaborate with them and other core partners like The Tacoma-Pierce County Black Collective, Harriet Tubman Foundation for Safe  Passage, Local Connectivity Lab, and the University of Washington Tacoma in this work.”

Chris Webb (he/him) leads the BBR Digital Equity Team and is a faculty member in the STEM+B Department of Seattle Central College. He leads the Digital Stewards training program and internships. He has 12 years of experience teaching digital and information literacy in community and university settings. His experience includes two NSF-funded projects, a PIT-UN grant, and local grants funded by the Marguerite Casey Foundation and the City of Seattle.

The UWT work will be directed by Emma Slager (they/them), assistant professor in the School of Urban Studies. Slager has partnered with BBR on previous projects on digital equity and worked with the Detroit Community Technology Project in Detroit, MI.

For more information about Black Brilliance Research and its work to promote digital equity and inclusion, visit https://www.blackbrillianceresearch.com/home.

SOURCE Black Brilliance Research

FORT PIERCE, Fla., March 14, 2023 — Burnsed Trucking, the category leader in LTL (less-than-truckload) for perishable items with a focus on fresh fish and seafood, announced today that it has closed on a capital raise of an undisclosed amount. The capital will be used for strategic acquisitions as well as to add additional capacity, modernize its technologies, and eliminate inefficiencies.

The refrigerated trucking market is estimated to reach $15 billion by 2025, up from $10.5 billion Pre-Covid as capacity remains tight. Craig Daley, Senior Vice President of Operations says, “Burnsed Trucking is well-positioned to re-invest and capitalize on the rapidly growing fish and seafood US market, and as a refrigerated asset-based hauler I’m excited about the future.” The company, headquartered in Ft. Pierce, Florida, serves over 200 of the largest seafood wholesalers and suppliers in and around Florida and all along the eastern seaboard, with plans to expand.

“We have always seen the perishable food hauling business as a recession-resistant business which gives us a positive vision into the future even as other industries like the housing market slows. As we grow to meet market demand, growth must first come from within. We will focus our priorities on employee cross-training enabling career and pay advancement,” said CEO Fred Baedorf. “If and when a recession hits, I believe volume may slow down in some pockets, but we believe that fish and seafood suppliers, wholesalers and buyers will continue to operate, evolve and sustain their business model and grow in new ways as they did during Covid.”

The new capital will also enable Burnsed Trucking to modernize its’ infrastructure, offer additional services to its customers and add additional team-drivers. “Our priority has always been based on being on time, and quality work. It’s our employees, our trucks, our location, and our ‘whatever-it-takes’ attitude that separates Burnsed from other transportation cultures,” said Shannon Burnsed, President.  “Our customers trust us. We get calls all the time and we are selective but when we bring on a new dedicated customer, we treat them as an extension of our family.” With a strong focus on fresh fish and seafood, Burnsed Trucking has earned a reputation as the category leader in LTL for over 30 years. Their commitment to on-time delivery and superior customer service has earned them a 5-star rating in the industry.

For more information about Burnsed Trucking, visit their website at www.burnsedtrucking.com

Contact:  Craig Daley, Sr. Vice President
                772-467-2620

SOURCE Burnsed Trucking

STOCKHOLM, March 14, 2023 — L4 Venture Builder, an independent investment fund with capital for investments in the ecosystems of innovation and entrepreneurship will take a minority stake in Vermiculus Financial Technology, specialized in providing state-of-the-art technology to exchanges, clearinghouses, and CSDs. Both sides have signed an agreement defining the terms of the investment which will include a transaction of USD 5,55 million by L4 to fuel Vermiculus accelerated growth. The transaction is expected to close in the coming weeks.

Founded in 2022, with committed capital of R$ 600million by B3 S.A. – Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão (B3), L4 Venture Builder is one of the main investment funds with capital committed by a single Brazilian corporation. The purpose of the investment fund is to empower entrepreneurs bringing  technology and reliable solutions  to Brazil focusing on innovation and development.

Pedro Meduna, one of the co-founders of L4, commented “This minority investment is part of the implementation of our strategy to advance entrepreneurs who through superior technology and robust solutions deliver true innovation and progress to several markets. After thorough due diligence, L4 has decided to invest in Vermiculus, a company with high potential for growth that runs a unique technology business. We are excited about Vermiculus’ strategy and plans that are in-line with the type of high growth investments that L4 will carry out.”

Vermiculus Financial Technology is an independent, global provider of high performing technology to exchanges, clearing houses, and CSDs. Created by a group of former leaders from Cinnober Financial Technology, Vermiculus begun its operations  in 2020 as a response to a noticeable gap in the market between supply and demand, as well as a need for independent providers of the most modern technology.

Vermiculus has since established itself as a key-player in the market through its focus on innovation as a result of its unique microservice architecture, market expertise, and customer-centric way of working. Consequentially, it has gained customers of a global capacity.

Taraneh Derayati, CEO of Vermiculus, reflects “The journey has been fantastic so far. We deliver on our promises and through the most modern technology on the market and transparent, agile project model bring value to our customers. This investment by L4 affirms that we make a difference to our customers and that our technology is the future.”

Nils Robert Persson, Chairman at Vermiculus, Pedro Meduna, Co-founder L4VB 

“This investment will allow for the acceleration of Vermiculus’ growth strategy, already on a steady course forward, and at the same time we will keep our independence.”

– Nils Robert Persson, Chairman of the Board at Vermiculus

Vermiculus has a unique stock option program for its employees, where they will own the majority of the company regardless of external investment. Such external investments are primarily focused on being able to continue the path of growth and continued innovation. 

About Vermiculus

Vermiculus Financial Technology AB provides cutting-edge trading, clearing, and CSD solutions to market participants around the world. Vermiculus’ solutions are the first to bring state-of-the-art advances in dynamic microservice architecture together with vast experience in clearing house, exchange, and CSD business requirements.

Vermiculus’ solutions radically improve robustness, quality, and flexibility by utilizing AI-driven microservices, and can achieve superior environmental performance, elastic scalability, and cost-efficiency through SaaS and cloud-based deployment.

The company started its operation in 2020 and is founded by industry experts with the incentive to revolutionize the technology of exchanges, clearing houses, and CSDs. With its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Vermiculus consists of hand-picked teams, trained to deliver mission-critical solutions. With decades of accumulated knowledge and expertise, the team has previously completed 75+ projects for the world’s largest exchanges, clearing houses, and CSDs.

For more information about Vermiculus and their product and service offerings, visit www.vermiculus.se or get in touch through [email protected].

About L4 Venture Builder

L4 Venture Builder is an independent investment fund that selects projects in which B3 (the Brazilian Stock Exchange) will have equity participation in sectors with high growth potential. L4 Venture Builder operates as an independent structure, with a flexible format to develop its businesses, and may even operate in areas in which B3 is already working. The creation of L4 Venture Builder continues B3’s strategy of innovation in its core business and growth on other fronts. To learn more visit en.l4vb.com

CONTACT:

Taraneh Derayati – CEO
Vermiculus Financial Technology
Tel +46-(0)73 634 56 26
[email protected]

The following files are available for download:

SOURCE VermiculusFT

Will help fund ground-breaking solution to reward livestock producers for certified greenhouse gas reductions

INDIANAPOLIS, March 14, 2023 — Athian (athian.ai), the world’s first cloud-based carbon marketplace for the livestock industry, announces a seed investment from Tyson Ventures, the venture capital arm of Tyson Foods, Inc., one of the world’s largest food companies and a recognized leader in protein. This latest investment from Tyson Ventures, along with previous investments from Elanco Animal Health Incorporated (NYSE: ELAN) and Newtrient LLC, will fast-track the launch of the first-of-its kind transactional carbon credit inset program for the livestock sector that will provide producers economic incentives for on-farm sustainability practices, while helping improve the sustainability of the food system and reduce climate warming.   

“This investment from Tyson Ventures propels the development of our carbon marketplace platform forward,” said Paul Myer, CEO of Athian. “We now have investors from each segment of the livestock production value chain – farmers, packers, processors, and animal health companies – supporting sustainability practices, including the economic aspect of sustainability, which has been left out of the conversation for far too long. While no single company can solve the challenge of climate change alone, we can work together to make meaningful impacts. We will launch Athian’s carbon credit insetting platform in the second half of 2023 so that livestock farmers who prioritize measurable carbon management practices will be able to, for the first time, earn revenue to fund those practices.”

Athian’s key mission is to help the beef and dairy value chains capture and claim carbon credits earned through sustainability efforts by aggregating, validating, and certifying, greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions, and monetizing those reductions through the sale of carbon credits. Athian aggregates data for producers of all sizes through a connected carbon marketplace, allowing beef and dairy producers to monetize and capture value from sustainability efforts, such as GHG reductions. When it goes to market later this year, Athian’s carbon credit insetting platform will allow livestock farmers who implement sustainable practices the ability to earn revenue to fund those practices.

“Our vision is to be the platform that enables the livestock industry to meet its sustainability goals by empowering producers to implement on-farm practice changes that will move the needle on climate change,” said Athian’s Myer. “Climate change presents a profound systemic challenge to the livestock industry. Athian is positioned to work with market leading companies to quantify, gain third party certification for and reward farmers for a range of sustainability practices executed at the farm level.”

Rahul Ray, Investment Lead for Tyson Ventures, will be an observer to the Athian Board of Directors in connection with this investment.

About Athian
Athian’s platform is an industry-based analytics tool that enables the livestock industry to improve sustainability by providing carbon credits. Athian’s carbon credit marketplace provides quality greenhouse gas credits that fund livestock producers’ sustainability measures.

SOURCE Athian

SaaS platform will accelerate development of data automations and launch self-serve suite to drive seller performance

LAS VEGAS, March 14, 2023 — Mayan, a fully-remote company which builds best-in-class optimization and automation technology for Amazon sellers, has raised a $5M Series A round of funding, led by Bright Pixel (former Sonae IM). This adds to the $2M of seed funding Mayan had raised just a year prior from investors including Y Combinator, Global Founders Capital, Alumni Ventures Group, ESAS Ventures, and Alarko Ventures. Mayan will use the capital to further accelerate the development of advertising automations and to launch a self-serve advertising solution. This new solution will arrive at a lower price point than their base offering that includes an expert dedicated account manager. Mayan is also releasing a free analytics and forecasting suite for Amazon sellers that seek a better understanding of their overall business performance.

Accelerating advertising automations

Mayan will use the new funding to accelerate the development of data-driven automations that help sellers optimize their advertising efforts on Amazon, tailored to their overall business goals and product economics. Mayan will also begin targeting other seller operations like inventory and working capital.

“We’ve heard from many of our customers that there is a gap in the solutions ecosystem for Amazon sellers,” said Chris Compean, Co-founder and CEO. “One of our differentiators is that our products are built alongside successful Amazon sellers, whether they are our customers or our teammates, some of whom are current or former sellers themselves. At Mayan, we help our customers by creating data-driven automations and insights that help fuel their growth.”

“Selling efficiently on Amazon remains extremely complex, requiring analyzing multiple data inputs and optimizing several dimensions, including advertising, inventory, and working capital. Mayan’s founders bring deep expertise from scaling numerous Amazon sellers. The platform they created enables sellers to leverage state of the art tech to drive optimization, with proven results increasing their customer base 5 times in a year,” added Manuel Queiroz, Director at Bright Pixel Capital.

Mayan drives immediate impact; in the first 3 months, customers see a 28% increase in ROAS (Return on Ad-Spend) and a 47% increase in ad-sales. Within 3 months of working with Mayan, customers typically experience their highest ad-sales month in history, all while maintaining the same budget. Overall, Mayan has helped generate over $80M in ad sales and drive over $160M of total sales through Amazon in just over two years of operations. Highlighting some of Mayan’s existing product features include keyword expansion, campaign creation, competitor targeting campaigns, and inventory informed advertising efforts – all automated to help sellers get back to focusing on other key areas of their business.

“The Mayan team has deep industry, data, and automation expertise combined with an innovative and fresh take on how to empower Amazon sellers. This got us really excited to back them! I’m excited to see them continue to expand into other seller operations in the near future,” remarked Aaron Epstein, a partner at Y Combinator.

There are over 6 million sellers in the Amazon ecosystem worldwide. To better serve these sellers, Amazon has quickly grown its in-platform advertising capabilities. From 2018 to 2021 ad-spend on Amazon has grown from $7 billion to $31 billion. For comparison, this is ½ the revenue that Amazon generates through AWS and already larger than YouTube’s ads business. This growth and new strategy for Amazon has impacted sellers in three ways: the company is becoming a pay to play platform, with 40% of all sales preceded by an advertisement; advertising within Amazon is becoming more complex, as it continues to roll out new advertisement types; and the average cost-per-click will continue to rise.

Launching self-serve product suite

Expanding on the current product suite, Mayan is also launching a self-serve ads optimization tool for Amazon sellers; in addition, they are in the development phase of an inventory optimization product that will be launched in early Q2. To make sound planning decisions for their business, Amazon sellers need to understand what is going on in their business today and accurately project the future across both their topline and bottom line, which ads and inventory greatly impact, respectively.

Mayan’s product suite includes analytics, inventory, and advertising automations. Combining all of the data involved in growing an Amazon business, Mayan also makes forecasts so that sellers can have a better handle on key areas of their business.

About Mayan

Mayan is the premier growth automation platform for Amazon sellers. Founded by four MIT grads, Mayan uses ML-powered technology to help Amazon brands and sellers take care of the tedious and data-intensive tasks of running their business. Focused on helping sellers achieve revenue growth through advertising optimization, our technology is crafted by our expert team of engineers, data scientists, Amazon sellers, and designers. For more information, please visit https://www.mayan.co.

About Bright Pixel Capital

Bright Pixel Capital, formerly known as Sonae IM, is the technology investment arm of the multinational group Sonae. With special focus on cybersecurity, digital infrastructure, and retail technologies, it has a portfolio of more than 50 companies, from early to growth stages. Bright Pixel Capital acts as a partner that brings specialized know-how, global footprint, and a wealth of experience in helping companies from early stage to IPO. Find out more at https://www.brpx.com. 

 Media Contact: Chris Compean, [email protected], [email protected]

SOURCE Mayan

This financing enables Elate to improve and further deploy its end-to-end platform, which guides organizations through the shift from Strategic to Dynamic Planning

INDIANAPOLIS, March 14, 2023 — Elate, a cloud-based strategic planning software, today announced its oversubscribed Series A funding round of $4.9 million led by enterprise startup investor WestWave Capital. Co-founded by Chief Executive Officer Brooks Busch and Chief Operating Officer Abby Parker and loved by world-class Strategy and Operations Leaders at companies like Seismic, Buildertrend and Thornburg, Elate enables companies to connect long-term vision with tactical execution in a simple, intuitive way.

“Elate is redefining the way companies go about strategic planning by simplifying the experience for employees and surfacing insights for strategy and operations leaders that show results in a measurable way,” said Brooks Busch, Chief Executive Officer at Elate. “With this investment and the team we have in place, I am more confident than ever Elate has the ability to become the most dynamic and comprehensive platform to drive the future of strategic planning forward.”

Elate’s strategic planning solution and all-in-one platform helps businesses define strategies and track execution across disparate teams. Going beyond a traditional objectives and key results (OKRs) framework, Elate’s platform guides leaders through a strategic planning process, providing recommendations and best practices to execute at the highest level and removing internal siloes to maximize transparency organization-wide. As a result, Elate customers are able to build, deliver and report on their strategy more quickly and efficiently.

“The positive impact of introducing a solution like Elate to help amplify our strategic planning process has been felt throughout the company,” said Jeanene Bettner, Managing Director and Chief Operations Officer – Distribution at Thornburg Investment Management. “Elate has helped Thornburg move towards a proactive approach to how we ensure alignment across teams and justify the time and resources we commit to delivering on strategic initiatives.”

WestWave Capital led the Series A funding round, with additional new investment from The Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Hyde Park Angels (HPA) and Capital Midwest Fund. Elevate Ventures also made a significant follow-on investment in the round along with continued participation from Serra Ventures, M25, and the Flywheel Fund. The capital will be used to invest heavily in product development as well as support current and future customers through an expanded go-to-market strategy.

“In just 18 months since launching their platform, the trajectory, direction and vision of Elate speaks volumes to how they are driving strategic planning and engagement in a new way,” said Warren Weiss of WestWave Capital. “From our own experience, many of the platforms in this space have failed to connect vision with execution to enable a proactive, dynamic strategy.  Elate is leveraging innovative tech combined with expert guidance and direction to solve this pain point and serve world-class strategy and operations leaders.”

“We view Elate’s solution as a long-term investment for much-needed change in the strategic planning space,” said Matt Tyner, Partner at Elevate Ventures. “As a former operations executive, Elate is superior in that it provides an end-to-end solution to create a more dynamic planning process and makes it easier for leaders to capture where they are currently at, along with what they need to grow successfully.”

To learn more about Elate or to request a demo, visit goelate.com.

About Elate

Elate provides a strategic planning platform to help companies communicate vision, create alignment, and drive outcomes all in one place. Partnering alongside world-class Strategy and Operations leaders, Elate helps increase operations visibility to define and measure key initiatives in a unified view for real-time decision making and collaboration. For more information, goelate.com.

Media Contact

Shelby Zellmer 
BLASTmedia for Elate 
[email protected]

SOURCE Elate

• Financing co-led by Sunstone Life Science Ventures and Sound Bioventures with participation from Industrifonden, Innovestor’s Life Science Fund and P53 Invest
• Discovery of a novel mechanism with the potential to prevent the death of neurons in neurodegenerative diseases
• First-in-Class, Lead drug candidate advances into clinical development in a Phase 1b study

AARHUS, Denmark, March 14, 2023 — Teitur Trophics (“Teitur”), a biotech company dedicated to developing new treatments for patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases, today announces the completion of a €28M Series A financing. The financing was co-led by Sunstone Life Science Ventures and Sound Bioventures, with participation from new investors, Industrifonden, Innovestor’s Life Science Fund and P53 Invest. The proceeds will enable Teitur to progress its lead drug candidate, TT-P34, from candidate selection into clinical development, including a Phase 1b clinical study in neurodegenerative diseases.

Teitur, a spin out from Aarhus University seeded by the BioInnovation Institute (“BII”) in 2020, has developed a platform of first-in-class cyclic peptides with a novel mechanism that preserves neuronal function. The peptides have the potential to treat patients suffering from a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases. Lead drug candidate, TT-P34 is administered subcutaneously and has shown potent, brain specific effects in animal models for Huntington’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia.

TT-P34 was developed from the sortilin-related Vps10p domain containing receptor (“SorCS2”) receptor and acts by targeting the three major pathophysiological hallmarks of neurodegeneration: mitochondrial failure, lysosomal dysfunction, and loss of pro-survival signaling. TT-P34 uniquely restores energy homeostasis in brain cells, induces clearance of toxic protein aggregates, and promotes neurotrophic effects, thereby supporting neuronal cell survival in neurodegenerative diseases.

Simon Mølgaard, Chief Executive Officer of Teitur Trophics said: “We are very pleased to welcome Sound Bioventures, Industrifonden, Innovestor’s Life Science Fund and P53 Invest to Teitur, who will join our existing investor, Sunstone Life Science Ventures. This investor syndicate creates a very strong and committed shareholder base with a track record of supporting successful next generation companies. The €28 million Series A investment further validates our vision for preserving neuronal function in the face of these devastating neurodegenerative disorders. The funding will allow us to take our first-in-class, lead drug candidate, TT-P34 from candidate selection into clinical development, while also advancing our novel pipeline of innovative, peptides. There is a pressing need for new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases which have a detrimental impact on millions of people’s lives around the world, with serious implications for quality of life and life expectancy.”

Søren Lemonius, General Partner at Sunstone Life Science Ventures, commented: “We are delighted to further support Teitur at this pivotal time of Company growth and development. Our passion is to enable and empower therapeutic innovation that has the ability to improve patient outcomes and we believe Teitur’s cyclic peptides is yet another excellent example of the breakthrough science coming out of the Scandinavian biotech ecosystem.”

Casper Breum, Managing Partner at Sound Bioventures added: “We are proud to support such an innovative Company that has the potential to make a meaningful impact against neurodegenerative diseases and improve the quality of life of patients, and we look forward to supporting the Company through its next stage of growth.”

In conjunction with the Series A financing, Charles Large will continue as Chairman of the Board at Teitur, while Søren Lemonius, Casper Breum, Fredrik Lehmann, Milla Koistinaho and Susanne Stuffers will join the Teitur Board of Directors.

About Teitur Trophics

Teitur Trophics, founded by Simon Molgaard, Anders Dalby, Mathias Ollendorff and Simon Glerup, is a biotech company that targets neurodegenerative diseases, based in Aarhus, Denmark. It is developing first-in-class circular peptides for treating neurodegenerative disorders where there are no treatments currently available, including Parkinson’s Disease, Frontotemporal Dementia and Huntington’s Disease. Its lead drug candidate, TT-P34 works by clearing the toxic protein deposits implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, restoring the function of mitochondria in affected brain cells and promoting pro-survival signaling. For more information, please visit: www.TeiturTrophics.com

About Sunstone Life Science Ventures

Sunstone Life Science Ventures is an independent European venture capital investment firm founded in 2007 by an international team of industry experts with combined entrepreneurial, operational and financial experience. Managing total funds of €500 million, Sunstone Life Science Ventures focuses on developing and expanding early–stage Life Science companies with strong potential to achieve global success in their markets. Since the inception, Sunstone Life Science Ventures has invested in more than 50 companies in the areas of pharmaceuticals, medical technologies and diagnostics, and has completed more than 20 successful IPOs and large M&A transactions. For more information, please visit: https://sunstone.eu/

About Sound Bioventures

Sound Bioventures is a biotherapeutics focused venture fund, that invests in about-to-be clinical or clinical stage companies in Europe and USA, and with a strong foundation in the Nordic biotech ecosystem. Founded by a team of experienced life science investors and operators, the fund invests in projects addressing significant unmet medical needs having the potential for a profound impact on human health and healthcare systems.

For more information, please visit: www.soundbioventures.com

About Industrifonden

Industrifonden is Sweden’s Venture Capital Fund looking for unique, scalable innovation that has a meaningful impact on our society. Industrifonden manages more than SEK 5 billion and invest in early-stage companies, from seed to A-round funding with a reach across the Nordics. The investment focus includes specialized technologies and businesses within Deep Tech, Life Science and Transformative Tech. Industrifonden has an evergreen structure which allows a long-term focus on value creation. Read more at www.industrifonden.com

About Innovestor

Innovestor is a Finnish investment company focusing on venture capital and real estate. In addition, we offer corporate venturing services. The firm currently manages four VC funds with total capital of over €200 million. Consisting of almost 100 growth companies across multiple sectors of technology and life science & health, it represents one of the largest private venture-backed portfolios in the Nordics. Our mission is to make good money. For more information, visit www.innovestorgroup.com

About P53 Invest

P53 Invest is a Norwegian investment company that identifies and invests in healthcare companies that think new and disrupt the status quo. P53 seeks to contribute to the development and commercialization of ground-breaking ideas that transform people’s lives, increase accessibility to cutting-edge treatments and innovative healthcare solutions and create exceptional value for patients. For more information, please visit: www.p53.no

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