Software eats medicine: Andreessen Horowitz this morning will announce that it has raised $200 million for a new fund “focused on the intersection of computer sciences and life sciences.
It will be led by new general partner Vijay Pande, who says that the fund’s investment thesis will lean heavily on the Erooms Law (i.e., Moore’s Law spelled backwards), which suggests anything with highly-specific individual applications (pharma, tuition, etc.) sees its cost rise exponentially on a regular basis. So don’t expect many drug deals. Instead, Pande cites three areas of particular interest: Digital therapeutics, tech-enabled biology and computational medicine.
VC Deals (17 deals, $275.6M)
Avedro Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based ophthalmic drug and medical device company that leverages corneal cross-linking and refractive correction, has raised $32 million in new equity funding co-led by InterWest Partners andOrbiMed Advisors
PatientPing, a Boston-based network of healthcare facilities that enables patient information sharing, has raised $9.6 million in Series A funding. Google Venturesand FPrime Capital co-led the round, and were joined by First Round Capital and SV Angel
Codiak BioSciences, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of exosomes for both therapeutics and diagnostics, has secured $80 million in first-round funding commitments from Arch Venture Partners and Flagship Ventures. The deal is structured with two tranches, the first of which has already been disbursed. The underlying technology is being licensed from the The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston
Athos, a Redwood City, Calif.-based maker of “smart fitness apparel,” has raised $35.5 million in Series C funding. Return backer Social+Capital Partnershipled the round, and was joined by MAS Holdings, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Felix Capital, DMC, True Ventures and Joe Lacob
APX Labs, a Herndon, Va.-based enterprise smartglasses platform, has raised $13 million in new VC funding. Existing backer New Enterprise Associatesled the round, and was joined by CNF Investments, GE Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and SineWave Ventures
Joyable, a San Francisco-based online program for overcoming social anxiety, has raised $8 million in Series A funding co-led by seed backers Thrive Capitaland Harrison Metal
TinyRx, a San Francisco-based on-demand service for drug prescription delivery and management, has raised $5 million in new VC funding from Eight Partners, Google Ventures and StartX
Deep Genomics, a Toronto-based developer of deep-learning technology that searches for genetic mutations that lead to disease, has raised C$3.7 million in seed funding. True Ventures led the round, and was joined by Bloomberg Beta
TuringSense, a Campbell, Calif.-based developer of wearable sports technology, has raised $3 million in seed funding from Angel Plus, ChinaRock Capital, Ideosource, SV Tech Ventures, Zen Water Capital and individual angels
ClearCare, a San Francisco-based provider of software for private duty home care agencies, has raised an undisclosed amount of strategic funding fromMcKesson Ventures
PresenceLearning Inc., a San Francisco-based provider of online speech and occupational therapy services for K-12 students, has raised $25 million in Series C funding. Catalyst Investors led the round, and was joined by return backers Birchmere Ventures, Blue Heron Capital, Catamount Ventures, and New Markets Venture Partners
Fractyl Laboratories Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based developer of a device-based endoscopic procedure to treat Type 2 diabetes, has raised $17 million in new Series C funding (bringing the round total to $57m). Deerfield Management Company was joined by return backers Mithril, General Catalyst, Bessemer Venture Partners and Domain Associates
Ovizio, a five-year-old, Belgium-based company whose microscopes act as a non-invasive tool for the 3D real-time imaging of living cells, has raised €8 million ($8.6 million) in venture funding co-led by New Science Ventures and an undisclosed U.S. investor. Qbic and Nausicaa Ventures also joined the round
PatientPing, a two-year-old, Boston-based network of healthcare facilities that enables patient information sharing, has raised $9.6 million in Series A funding co-led by Google Ventures and FPrime Capital, with participation fromFirst Round Capital and SV Angel
First Aid Shot Therapy, a five-year-old, Burlingame, Ca.-based consumer healthcare company focused on over-the-counter medicine in liquid shot form, has raised $24 million in Series C funding led by Johnson & Johnson Innovation, with participation from Lumira Capital and earlier backers Sofinnova Ventures, Redmile Group and HealthQuest Capital, among others
Zipdrug, a nearly year-old, New York -based on-demand prescription medication delivery company, has raised $2.6 million seed funding led by Collaborative Fund, with participation from Lux Capital, Montage Ventures, Mesa Ventures, Metamorphic Ventures, and serial entrepreneur Brian Lee
AIA Group Limited and Konica Minolta, Inc. have partnered to launch Singapore-based AIA-Konica Minolta Digital Health Accelerator, which will conduct a 12-week accelerator programme supporting entrepreneurs and businesses that deliver integrated data-healthcare delivery solutions.
PE Deals (3 deals)
Warburg Pincus has committed up to $300 million in equity funding to launchVertice Pharma LLC, a new branded and generics pharma acquisition platform led by CEO Don DeGolyer (ex-CEO of Endo Pharmaceuticals) and CFO Andrew Saik (ex-CFO of Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, acquired by Endo). In related news, Vertice has agreed to acquire VistaPharm, a Birmingham, Ala.-based generics manufacturer of liquid and unit dosage pain medications. No financial terms were disclosed
Alpine Investors has acquired a majority stake inOptima Healthcare Solutions, a therapy management SaaS software company with offices in Atlanta and Palm City, Fla. No financial terms were disclosed. Josh Pickus, an Alpine CEO-in-residence, will become Optima’s new CEO
Cortec Group has sponsored a recapitalization ofCommunity Veterinary Partners LLC, a Philadelphia-based network of veterinary hospitals (mostly in the northeastern U.S.). No financial terms were disclosed
IPO Deals (2 deals)
Mesoblast, an Australian regenerative medicine company that already trades on the ASX, raised $60 million in its U.S. IPO. The company priced 7.5 million shares at $8 per share (below anticipated $12.10 per share price), and will trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol MESO. J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse served as lead underwriters
Axsome Therapeutics Inc., a New York-based developer of drugs to treat pain and CNS disorders, raised $51 million in its IPO. The company priced 5.67 million shares at $9 per share (below plans to offer 4.25 million shares at $11-$13), for an initial market cap of around $180 million. The pre-revenue company began trading on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol AXSM, with shares finishing their first day down at $8.74 each
Other Deals (5 deals)
TSG Consumer Partners has agreed to sell ThinkThin, a Los Angeles-based maker of “wholesome protein-rich foods,” to Glanbia PLC (ISE: GL9). No financial terms were disclosed
Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) is closing in on an agreement to acquire Ireland-based Botox maker Allergan (NYSE: AGN) for upwards of $150 billion. At $380 per Allergan share — the high end of reported negotiations — the offer would represent a 22% premium to yesterday’s closing price
Evolution1, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wex Inc. (NYSE: WEX), has acquiredBenaissance, an Omaha, Neb.-based SaaS company focused on the healthcare premium billing, payment and workflow management markets. The deal is valued at $80 million. Sellers include McCarthy Capital
Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL) has acquiredOncotest, a German oncology drug discovery contract research organization. The deal is valued at around €34 million in cash, plus the possibility of an additional €2 million in earnouts
Martin Shkreli, the controversial CEO of Turing Pharma, has led an investor group that acquired more than half the outstanding shares of KaloBios (Nasdaq: KBIO), a South San Francisco-based cancer drug company that just days ago said it would wind down operations due to drug development setbacks. KaloBios shares spiked more than 800% on the acquisition news
Sources: Term Sheet, Financial Times, StrictlyVC, TechinAsia, CrunchBase, TechCrunch, Bloomberg
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