Y Combinator is a startup accelerator that invests in a large number of startups twice a year. It created a new model for funding startups. Twice a year, the company invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups. The startup accelerator works intensively with the companies for three months, to get them into the best possible shape and refine their pitch to investors. Each cycle culminates in Demo Day when the startups present their companies to a carefully selected, invite-only audience.

Y Combinator

Joyance Partners invests in companies that, through science and tech, cultivate joy to improve how we live, focusing on the health and consumer sectors from Pre-Seed to Series A.

Joyance Partners

Launchpad Venture Group is an angel investment group that provides funding to early-stage companies. It looks for innovative, technology-driven startup companies addressing a significant market opportunity where investors can make a difference. It is well connected to potential customers, service providers, partners, and future sources of financing. It is providing human and financial capital to help entrepreneurs build successful companies.

LaunchPad Venture

Beacon Angels is a Boston-based angel group that makes investments in the $100,000 to $300,000 range in small fast-growing companies.

Beacon Angels

They are passionate about seeing their portfolio companies become successful.

Bantam Group

Sidecar Angels is a Boston-based angel group that helps venture capital firms and entrepreneurs build early stage companies.

Sidecar Angels

Founded by serial entrepreneur Kevin Ryan, AlleyCorp is both a startup studio and fund that founds companies and invests in early stage companies. AlleyCorp is exclusively focused on investing in transformational companies in New York City. Since its inception, we have launched companies that have raised over $1B+ in funding with an aggregate value of $10B+. As a venture / idea studio, AlleyCorp originates the idea, forms the founding team, funds the initial 6-12 months, launches the company, and maintains integral leadership throughout the company's lifecycle. Some companies that have been founded through AlleyCorp include MongoDB, Business Insider, Gilt Groupe, Zola, Nomad Health, Workframe, and CoEdition.  AlleyCorp will also invest in very early stage companies usually as the first seed investor.  Moreover, we believes in supporting first time founders. Our goal is to co-create and invest in truly transformational companies with inspiring leaders.

AlleyCorp

Pioneer Fund is a fund of 420+ Y Combinator alumni, investing in the top Y Combinator startups.

Pioneer Fund

Avestria Ventures is an investment firm that focuses on women's health and female-led life science and healthcare companies. They define women's health as illnesses that affect women exclusively (such as menopause), differently (such as cardiovascular disease), or disproportionately (such as Alzheimer's).

Avestria Ventures

TBD Angels is a group of like-minded angel investors who thrive on sharing advice, guidance, and capital with talented entrepreneurs. TBD Angels provide critical advice and connections to jumpstart the companies it invests in.

TBD Angels

KYTO’s strategy is to develop a specialized vehicle for early stage technology and life science companies.

Kyto Technology and Life Science Inc

Olive Tree Capital started as the foreign investment arm of the single member family office. With a diverse mandate, we are able to seek worthwhile global investment opportunities without asset class restrictions; we seek public market opportunities with discrepancies between market perception and fundamental reality, and we enjoy privately investing in and collaborating with partners who share our passion, dedication, and clarity. More philosophically, we live by the Golden Rule; thus, we especially love entrepreneurs, artists, and businesses that are positively contributing to humanity in parallel with pursuing profitability.

Olive Tree Capital

The Helm is a generalist seed-stage fund investing in companies with at least one female founder. We are investing in founders who take a broad view of the needs of the world, and are using technology to create novel, enduring solutions to difficult problems.

The Helm

Rhia Ventures invests in reproductive healthcare solutions that empower women.

Rhia Ventures

Emmeline Ventures is an early-stage fund that invests in tech-enabled and female-founded start-ups. The firm was founded in 2022 and is based in Los Angeles, CA.

Emmeline Ventures

Good Growth Capital provides investors with exceptional returns through our ability to source, assess and invest in early-stage transformative science- and technology-based companies in life sciences, data sciences, and greentech/hard sciences.

Good Growth Capital

Astia focuses on sourcing and investing in women-led companies through its various investment vehicles, including Astia Fund and Astia Angels. Utilizing a data-driven methodology, Astia aims to eliminate bias in the investment process while supporting entrepreneurs with diverse backgrounds. The organization is committed to leveling the investment playing field and fostering inclusive teams that drive impactful growth.

Astia

Gore Range Capital is a venture capital firm focused on hands-on investing in early-stage healthcare businesses. We invest in companies that have strong potential for growth, high barriers to entry, and exceptional management teams.  Our approach is simple: we invest in what we know. Over the course of our respective careers the Gore Range team has built domain expertise and extensive networks across multiple areas of healthcare. Through Gore Range Capital we are channeling our capabilities to focus on our largest organ and the most visible manifestation of who we are - the skin. At Gore Range, we blend the hands-on approach of operationally focused private equity with the early-stage guidance needed in venture capital. We offer not just capital, but insights as well as operational, clinical, and scientific expertise while leveraging our deep industry relationships to position our portfolio companies for success.

Gore Range Capital

VU Venture Partners is a multi-stage venture capital fund focusing on Consumer, Enterprise, FinTech / Blockchain, HealthTech, Frontier Tech, and Real Estate Tech. It was founded in 2018 and is based in San Francisco, California.

VU Venture Partners

LongeVC was created to support early-stage biotech and longevity-focused founders on their way to gain industrial momentum, raise capital, and grow to become the shapers of tomorrow's biotech industry.

LongeVC

FemHealth Ventures invests in groundbreaking innovators in women’s health, focusing on drugs, devices, diagnostics, and digital applications. We are (re)imagining women’s health to include conditions that affect only women, affect mostly women, or appear differently in women.

FemHealth Ventures

LabCorp Venture Fund invests in early stage private companies operating in current or strategically adjacent spaces and developing novel solutions to important problems in health and healthcare. Investments are typically early stage (Series A or Series B). LabCorp’s typical initial investment is $500K-$2M, reserving up to $5M for follow-on investment. LabCorp typically does not lead financing rounds, but prefers to co-invest with an institutional or strategic lead.

LabCorp Venture Fund

Cancer Fund aims to generate impact and returns by advancing cancer innovations beyond research toward, or through, regulatory approvals, technical validation, or earliest market adoption. FUND I is designed to make up to $30M in pre-seed through Series D investors in therapies & management, diagnostic & monitoring, and prevention & enabling technology solutions with the potential to improve patient outcomes, increase access to care, or reduce cost of care.

Cancer Fund

Adaptive Capital Partners is a early-stage technology focused venture capital firm.

Adaptive Capital Partners

RH Capital a Rhia Ventures fund, is an impact-first venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups with the potential to transform women's health and increase health equity.

RH Capital

AOA Dx is a biotechnology company with a team of entrepreneurs that brings innovative, impactful, and cost-effective medical technologies from research and development into the hands of providers and patients.  The company is driven by a mission to bring to market the first accurate early-stage non-invasive ovarian cancer diagnostic test that will improve clinical practice and help reduce patient mortality.

<div>AOA Dx is a biotechnology company developing early cancer diagnostics in the field of women&rsquo;s health. The platforms developed by the company include GlycoLocate, a patent pending platform for early cancer detection.&nbsp;</div>

Leveraging personal data for custom-fit diagnosis and treatment

Precision Medicine

AOA Dx

<div>
 
 AOA Dx is a biotechnology company developing early cancer diagnostics in the field of women&rsquo;s health. The platforms developed by the company include GlycoLocate, a patent pending platform for early cancer detection.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 The company claims that its GlycoLocate platform will be the first and only to use the tumor marker gangliosides to detect cancer earlier. It is claimed to be able to differentiate between cancers down to their tissue of origin in patients with and without symptoms.
 
 
 
 
 AKRIVIS GD is the first diagnostic test developed on GlycoLocate that makes use of tumor marker ganglioside technology to provide a liquid biopsy test to detect ovarian cancer. The company claims that early clinical studies indicate high sensitivity and specificity across all cancer stages in women.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 In October 2023 AOA Dx raised USD 17 million in funding, bringing total funds raised to USD 24 million. The round was led by Good Growth Capital. The funds were expected to be used to open new lab facilities, expand ovarian cancer prospective clinical trials and develop the GlycoLocate platform into various new cancer areas.
 
 
 
</div>

<div>
 
 Praxis Precision Medicines is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops precision medicine for central nervous system disorders based on neuronal imbalance caused by genetic mutations.
 
 
 The company has four clinical-stage product candidates in its pipeline for treating disorders such as depression, epilepsy, movement disorders, and pain syndromes. The company&rsquo;s drug candidates include 1) PRAX-944, which is an inhibitor for essential tremor disorder linked to Parkinson&rsquo;s disease and is set to begin Phase 3 in mid-2023, 2) PRAX-222 in Phase 2 of clinical trials targets the SCN2A gene most commonly associated with early-onset epilepsy, 3) PRAX-562 was designed to block persistent sodium for patients suffering from rare diseases such as headache disorders and severe seizures and completed Phase 1 of clinical trials, and 4) PRAX-628 in Phase 2 clinical trials for treating focal epilepsy that originates in one side or area of the brain and affects one side of the body. Additionally, the firm has six pre-clinical drug candidates.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 The company went public in October 2020, trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol &ldquo;PRAX&rdquo;. 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/19453">
 In June 2023 
 </a>
 , the company announced an underwritten public offering of its common shares and pre-funded warrants, to raise approximately USD 59.1 million. The capital raised was used to support the company&rsquo;s ongoing operations and strategic initiatives, furthering the development of its pipeline and potential future endeavors.
 
 
 For the year 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16211">
 2022
 </a>
 , net losses increased by 28% YoY to USD 214 million arising from a significant increase in R&amp;D expense (up by 29% YoY). For the six months ended June 2023, the company is yet to generate revenue from drugs, however received collaboration revenue of USD 1.5 million. Further, it reported a decline in net loss by 43.0% YoY to USD 34.3 million. Its cash and cash equivalent as of June 2023 was at USD 124.3 million, compared to USD 61.6 million in December 2022, which the company believes will be adequate to fund operations till Q1 2025. 
 
</div>

Praxis Precision Medicines

<div>
 
 Mirati Therapeutics is a commercial-stage biotechnology company developing oncology-targeted therapies to address KRAS mutations present in 25% of tumors, including lung, colorectal and pancreatic cancers. Mirati&rsquo;s lead product KRAZATI (adagrasib/ MRTX849) is an oral&nbsp; KRASG12C inhibitor approved in 2022 for certain non-small cell lung cancers.The company also has sitravatinib, a multi-kinase inhibitor, in Phase 3 trials for non-small cell lung cancer in combination with a Bristol-Myers Squibb checkpoint inhibitor.
 
 
 
 
 Additionally, Mirati is advancing multiple early-stage programs including KRAS G12D inhibitor MRTX1133 for pancreatic and colorectal cancers, which entered Phase 1 in 2023, as well as a synthetic lethal inhibitor MRTX1719. In December 2022, the company submitted an IND application for MRTX1133, a potent and selective KRAS G12D inhibitor, which was cleared by the FDA in January 2023. 
 
 
 Key partnerships and customers
 
 
 
 
 Mirati has multiple partnerships with leading biopharma companies to advance its pipeline, including discovery collaborations with Pfizer and clinical collaborations with Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, and 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14345">
 Incyte
 </a>
 . The company also has licensing agreements with BeiGene for sitravatinib and Zai Lab for MRTX849 in certain Asian markets.
 
 
 
 
 
 Funding and Financials
 
 
 
 
 The company went public in June 2013 to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol &ldquo;MRTX&rdquo;. In August 2023, the company closed an 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20988">
 underwritten public offering
 </a>
 at USD 345 million. The new funds were used towards drug development and leadership expansion.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16725">
 For the year 2022 
 </a>
 , the firm's net losses increased to USD 740.9 million from USD 581.8 million. Net product revenue for the full year amounted to USD 0.7 million arising from the sale of KRAZATI, which received FDA approval for its commercial launch in December 2022. 
 
</div>

Mirati Therapeutics

<div>
 
 Tvardi Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing precision medicine for different cancers, chronic inflammatory diseases, and fibrotic diseases. The company&rsquo;s pipeline focuses on the development of small-molecule inhibitors of STAT3, a regulatory protein that allows cancer cells to evade the immune system and survive.
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s orally administered monotherapy and lead product, TTI-101, is in Phase 1 clinical trials for patients with advanced solid tumors who have failed all other lines of therapy. Additionally, the drug is in preclinical trials for treating fibrosis and inflammation. The company is also developing TTI-102, a next-generation STAT3 inhibitor that is structurally similar but chemically different from TTI-101.&nbsp;
 
 
 Founded in 2017, the Texas-based company closed a Series B funding round in June 2021, which brought total funding to USD 81 million and the proceeds will be used to advance Tvardi&rsquo;s drug candidates through its clinical data readouts in mid-stage trials for cancer and fibrosis.
 
</div>

Tvardi Therapeutics

<div>
 
 Tango Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotech company developing precision oncology therapies targeting synthetic lethality in cancer which leads to cell death. Its discovery platform identifies novel targets to develop drugs focused on: 1) countering tumor suppressor gene loss to help the immune system recognize and kill cancer cells, and 2) reversing cancer cell evasion of the immune system.
 
 
 
 
 Tango has five pipeline programs, including lead candidate TNG908, an inhibitor for multiple cancer indicators. The FDA approved TNG908's IND in January 2022 and granted it Orphan Drug Designation. TNG908 is in Phase I/II trials, with preliminary efficacy data expected in H1 2023. Tango also plans to file INDs for TNG260 (STK11 mutant cancers) and TNG348 (BRCA1/2-mutant cancers). In 
 <a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/01/25/2595034/0/en/Tango-Therapeutics-Announces-FDA-Clearance-of-Investigational-New-Drug-Application-for-TNG462-Provides-Additional-Business-Updates.html">
 January 2023
 </a>
 , the FDA cleared the IND for TNG462, a next-gen PRMT5 inhibitor for cancers with MTAP deletion.
 
 
 
 
 Key partnerships and customers
 
 
 
 
 
 Outside its pipeline, the company also entered into a collaborative partnership with big pharma Gilead Sciences Inc., in October 2018 which was later expanded for two years in August 2020 to identify new immune evasion targets.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 
 Tango went public in August 2021 via a SPAC deal, trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol &ldquo;TNGX&rdquo;, and the company received gross proceeds of USD 353 million. In August 2023, the company raised USD 80 million via a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/20955">
 private placement
 </a>
 , which was led by Nextech. The new funds were used toward expanding its TNG908 and TNG462 PRMT5 programs to various other indications.
 
 
 
 
 Tango has not yet generated any drug sales and does not expect to do so for several years. However, for the full-year the company reported collaboration revenue of USD 24.9 million (down 4.42% YoY) and a net loss of USD 108.2 million (up 85.9% YoY).
 
 
 
</div>

Tango Therapeutics

<div>
 
 IDEAYA Biosciences is a clinical-stage biotech developing precision cancer therapies based on synthetic lethality - when specific gene mutations pair to cause cell death. The company also studies combining synthetic lethality with immunotherapies and DNA damage to enhance treatment efficacy. While current drugs target limited mutations like BRCA1/2, IDEAYA aims to treat broader genetic subpopulations.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Its pipeline includes synthetic lethality-driven precision medicines across four potential first-in-class clinical-stage product candidates. Of these, the company owns/controls commercial rights of the three most-advanced of these product candidates: darovasertib, IDE397, and IDE161. As of May 2024, the company was also advancing Werner Helicase program for which a development candidate has been selected in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline, and, subject to investigational new drug-, or IND-, enabling studies, are targeting an IND in 2024. In addition. the company also works on multiple earlier-stage preclinical programs. 
 
 
 By targeting specific genetic drivers, IDEAYA advances precision oncology using synthetic lethality approaches. The company is focused on developing novel targeted therapies for patient populations with high unmet need and limited treatment options.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 In December 2023, IDEAYA Biosciences teamed up with Gilead Sciences to test the combination of IDE397 and Trodelvy in a Phase I clinical trial for MTAP-deletion bladder cancer.
 
 
 
 
 Key partnerships and customers
 
 
 
 
 The company collaborates with pharmaceutical partners to advance its pipeline, including a strategic partnership with GSK in June 2020. The collaboration with GSK covers co-development and commercialization of two synthetic lethality programs. IDEAYA received USD 100 million upfront and USD 20 million in a direct private placement through the GSK deal. In June 2022, IDEAYA announced it would co-develop its Pol Theta candidate with GSK, with a Phase 1 trial starting in the first half of 2023.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 IDEAYA also holds an exclusive license from Novartis for LXS196 (IDE196), a PKC inhibitor for metastatic uveal melanoma. Additionally, the company is exploring IDE196 combinations with Pfizer and its potential in other rare skin diseases. In July 2022, IDEAYA signed an agreement with Amgen to evaluate IDE397 with Amgen's AMG 193 in solid tumors. Strategic pharma partnerships help advance and expand IDEAYA's pipeline of synthetic lethality precision oncology programs.
 
 
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 
 
 
 The company was listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol &ldquo;IDYA&rdquo; in May 2019, raising USD 50 million via an initial public offering. In September 2022, the company raised USD 92 million.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 For 2022, the company reported a net loss of USD 58.7 million (up 17.9% YoY) while collaboration revenue was USD 50.9 million (up 82.3% YoY). 
 
 
 On October 24, 2023, IDEAYA Biosciences priced an underwritten public offering of 5 million shares of common stock and pre-funded warrants to purchase 319,150 shares of common stock. The common stock offered was priced at USD 23.50 per share, while the exercise price of a pre-funded warrant was USD 0.0001. The offering was expected to bring in approximately USD 125 million in gross proceeds.
 
 
 
</div>

IDEAYA Biosciences

Companies providing genetic tests to identify individuals with high risk or at-risk of having hereditary disease, aid physicians with a diagnosis, and support clinical decision making.

Secure cloud-based platforms and data sharing networks that collect, index, store, and analyze large amounts of health data and patient population data sets from sources including genomic, clinical, wearables, imaging, and population data.

Biopharma and biotechnology companies that develop precision medicine drugs based on novel disease biomarkers present in multi-omic patient population data and genetic insights.

Companies that study intergenomic variations in genes associated with drug response and metabolism to match patients with the appropriate drug and dosage.

Companies that develop an in-vitro medical device or imaging tools and tests that identify genetic mutations for both diagnostic (nature of the disease) and prognostic (likely course of the disease) purposes, allowing providers to match a patient to a specific drug or therapy.

Software analytics platforms that integrate multiple omics datasets (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) to gain insights and support target discovery, drug development, clinical trials, and diagnostics.

Some companies leverage AI/ML to develop tailored medication

Considers individual variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle for each person

Genomics is used across all the segments of precision medicine from diagnostic solutions to treatments

AI/ML analyzes genomic data to find drug targets, predict disease progression, and treatment response

<div>
 <ul>
 <li>
 New York-based genetic testing company AOA Dx has raised USD 17 million in funding, reaching a total of USD 24 million in funds raised. The round of funding was led by Good Growth Capital and included participation from RH Capital, Y Combinator, Astia Fund, Adaptive Capital Partners, Gore Range Capital, LongeVC, The Helm, VU Venture Partners, FemHealth Ventures, as well as diagnostic investors like Labcorp Venture Fund.
 </li>
 <li>
 The funds will be used to open new lab facilities, expand ovarian cancer prospective clinical trials, and further develop the GlycoLocate platform to target various other cancer areas.
 </li>
 <li>
 AOA Dx is a biotechnology company focused on developing early cancer diagnostics, particularly in women's health. Their platforms include GlycoLocate, a patent-pending platform for early cancer detection, and AKRIVIS GD, a liquid biopsy test in the early clinical stage that analyzes tumor marker gangliosides to detect early-stage ovarian cancer.
 </li>
 </ul>
</div>

AOA Dx

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