A lot has been happening lately in the world of UPMC Enterprises portfolio companies. Learn more by reading this round-up of recent updates.
Abridge, a UPMC Enterprises portfolio company focused on using AI to empower patients to record and understand their health, announced a $12.5 million Series A-1 funding to launch an enterprise solution to combat physician burnout in health care.
Founded in 2018 by UPMC cardiologist and former UPMC Enterprises executive Dr. Shivdev Rao, Abridge uses machine learning technology to bring understanding and follow-through to people’s health by deciphering information-dense medical conversations. The company’s audio and ambient AI-centered solutions help clinicians practice at the top of their license and patients stay on top of their health.
In summary: Abridge received $$$ to use AI to combat physician burnout.
UPMC Enterprises portfolio company, Astrata, and Smile CDR have announced that their digital HEDIS® solution, eMeasure, is one of the first engines to earn the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) Certification for new digital measures. NCQA Certification programs evaluate systems and processes that support data collection, surveys, and quality improvement. This initial Certification follows successful beta-testing of the new Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR®)-based digital measures by Astrata in collaboration with NCQA.
In summary: Astrata and Smile CDR earned a special QA certification.
Avista Therapeutics, a UPMC Enterprises spinout that aims to develop innovative gene therapies for rare ophthalmic conditions, announced a partnership with Roche to develop novel AAV gene therapy vectors for ocular diseases.
The partnership aims to apply Avista’s single-cell adeno-associated virus (AAV) engineering (scAAVengr) platform technology to develop AAV capsids for intravitreal injection matching a capsid profile defined by Roche. Under the terms of the partnership, Roche has the right to evaluate and license novel capsids from Avista, and will be responsible for conducting preclinical, clinical, and commercialization activities for gene therapy programs using these novel capsids. These programs will be distinct from Avista’s internal pipeline.
In summary: Avista and Roche have partnered to treat blindness and other ocular diseases.
UPMC Enterprises portfolio company, Generian Pharmaceuticals, has announced a strategic collaboration and exclusive license agreement with Mitobridge, a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma, Inc. The agreement covers the discovery and development of novel small molecules for undruggable therapeutic targets for diseases that have limited treatment options.
Generian and Mitobridge will jointly conduct research and preclinical development activities to identify novel small molecules that directly bind and modulate the activity or stability of target proteins as potential development candidates. Generian will be harnessing a proprietary drug discovery platform for target discovery and hit-to-lead identification.
In summary: Generian is collaborating with Mitobridge in order to create drug therapies for untreatable diseases.
UPMC Enterprises portfolio company Novasenta recently announced the completion of $40 million in Series A financing. The funding from UPMC Enterprises will allow Novasenta to advance its pipeline of antibody-based therapeutics, expand its proprietary computational platforms for target discovery, and expand operationally by recruiting top talent.
In summary: Novasenta received funding from UPMC Enterprises.
Want to stay up-to-date on more portfolio company news? Be sure to keep an eye out for Small Bytes, UPMC Enterprises’ quarterly e-newsletter.
