Portfolio News

Early Cancer-Detection Startup GRAIL is Reportedly Trying to Raise More Money

Only a few months after GRAIL raised a record-breaking $900 million in its Series B funding round, the company is looking for further funding. Focused on early cancer detection, GRAIL also raised $100 million last year to develop its blood testing technology. The current search for funding is focused on sovereign funds. Early talks with Mubadala and Softbank, the $125 billion sovereign fund and private equity firm, suggests that these may be sources of further incoming monies. GRAIL’s parent company Illumina may also provide GRAIL with...

PARP Inhibitor May Be Effective Against Some TNBC-Lacking BRCA Mutations

A recent study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, uncovered some important data regarding mutations and cancer treatment. The study, performed by Funda Meric-Bernstam, MD, of the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy and Nellie B. Connally of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that the PARP inhibitor talazoparid caused regression of patient-derived xenographs of triple-negative breast cancers with BRCA mutations. The PARP inhibitors also worked for patients without BRCA mutations but with other alterations in...

Google Launches New Program to Foster AI Startups

Google’s new accelerator engine, Launchpad Studio, has launched its first six-month program to help companies that want to incorporate AI and machine learning into their offerings. The first group is all in the healthcare/biotech sector: Augmedix is applying deep learning and understanding to its platform, which provides electronic scribe services via Google Glass. BrainQ uses advanced machine learning to develop personalized tools to help paralyzed patients regain movement. Byteflies uses machine learning and data streams gathered from its medical devices in clinical trials and value-based...

Can AI Make Your Health Insurance Better? Accolade Thinks So

On-demand healthcare concierge Accolade has developed a new system that combines artificial intelligence with machine learning technology to make delivery of healthcare services more efficient and proactive. Called Maya Intelligence Engine, the system provides customized healthcare assistance to individuals and their families. This new development puts Accolade one step closer towards its goal of providing the "most personalized healthcare experience." Here’s how it works. Maya Intelligence Engine gathers information from the user’s medical history and personal demographics to determine which services or actions to recommend. Maya can...

Six New Companies Select SHYFT to Maximize Launch Success of Specialty and Rare Disease Brands

SHYFT Analytics, a data and analytics cloud for life sciences, announced that in the last quarter, six biopharma companies have chosen to launch their new therapies using the SHYFT platform. The company’s solutions are designed to meet the needs of manufacturers developing and launching complex therapies. SHYFT CEO Zack King notes that more than half of newly launched drugs fail to meet market expectations, and the success rate is even lower with rare disease and specialty therapies due to smaller patient populations and complicated delivery. “The...