Helaina, a company using precision fermentation to recreate immune-equivalent proteins previously only available in breast milk, has raised $20M in Series A funding co-led by Spark Capital and Siam Capital with participation from Primary Venture Partners, Plum Alley Investments, Tom Williams, Hannah Bronfman, Gabrielle Union, Matt Rutler and Barrel Ventures, among other strategic partners. The company was founded in 2019 by by food scientist and entrepreneur Laura Katz, who aspired…
Organon and Forendo Pharma today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement, under which Organon will acquire Forendo, a clinical-stage drug development company focused on novel treatments in women’s health. Forendo is pioneering the science of intracrinology, addressing disease through a novel, tissue-specific approach. Its lead clinical compound is an investigational, potentially first-in-class oral 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSD17B1)…
Antiva Biosciences, a biopharmaceutical company developing novel, topical therapeutics for the treatment of pre-cancerous lesions caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) infection, has announced the closing of a $31M Series D. The financing was supported by a syndicate of life science investors led by Adjuvant Capital, a leading global and women’s health venture firm, and joined by GV, formerly Google Ventures. Participants in the financing…
U.S.-based mammary biotechnology company BIOMILQ has raised a $21M Series A led by Danish life science investor Novo Holdings and clean tech leader Breakthrough Energy Ventures. Other participants in the round include Blue Horizon, Spero Ventures, Digitalis Ventures, Green Generation Fund, Alexandria and Gaingels. BIOMILQ plans to use the new funds to accelerate commercialization of its lab-grown breast milk. BIOMILQ CEO &…
Psomagen, a CLIA-certified genetic analysis provider, is expanding its at-home testing services to include routine women’s health screening. This move began with The VProject, which is recruiting 1,000 women aged 18 and older in the United States to participate in a vaginal microbiome research study. For their involvement, participants receive a no-cost personalized test of their vaginal microbiome which can be used to…
Women’s health-focused biotech company ObsEva has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for linzagolix for the treatment of uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids are common benign tumors of the muscular tissue of the uterus. Uterine fibroids affect women of childbearing age and can vary in size from undetectable to large bulky masses. Few long-term medical…
Field Trip, a leader in the development and delivery of psychedelic therapies, has announced the lead indications for FT-104, its novel psychedelic compound in development, will be Treatment Resistant Depression (TRD) and Postpartum Depression (PPD). Through Field Trip Discovery, its drug development division, Field Trip is developing next-generation psychedelic molecules. Its first molecule in development, FT-104, a prodrug, is a synthetic serotonin-2A…
Visby Medical has received a 510(k) clearance and was granted a waiver under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA) from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its fast, single-use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) diagnostic test for the multiplexed detection of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) caused by Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV), using a self-collected vaginal swab. With the…
