Fresh off Medicare win, CardioDx lines up $58 million financing round

CardioDx Inc. lined up $58 million in a two-tranche round – about $30 million now and the remainder later this year – as it expands following recently won Medicare coverage of its heart disease diagnostic test. Singapore-based investor Temasek joined a slew of existing CardioDx backers, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mohr Davidow Ventures, TPG Biotech and GE Capital, in the financing, the Palo Alto company said Monday.

Crescendo tries to convince insurers to pay for its rheumatoid arthritis test

If you have rheumatoid arthritis, the course of your treatment can be determined this way: The doctor looks at, squeezes and evaluates 28 joints for swelling or tenderness then plugs that information into a formula that spits out a score. So-called DAS28 tests are less than perfect, as you might guess. What's more, they are largely subjective and time consuming. It is difficult to figure out when to increase or discontinue a patient's use of the Genentech-developed RA drug Rituxan, for example, or to switch to another drug. DAS28 tests are used more for clinical trials than in clinical practice, but the leaders of Crescendo Biosciences Inc. are sure there's a better way for RA patients, physicians and the health-care system.

Life Technologies buys DNA test developer Navigenics

Life Technologies Corp. bought genetic-information company Navigenics Inc., the company said Monday, giving the testing equipment giant an inroad to process lab tests for doctors.

Carlsbad-based Life Technologies (NASDAQ: LIFE) did not disclose the value of the deal, but it said it is its "first step" toward building out its molecular diagnostics business through internal development, partnerships and select acquisitions.

Foster City-based Navigenics, run by San Francisco Business Times 40 Under 40 award winner Vance Vanier, develops DNA tests that tell doctors if patients have genetic markers for certain diseases. It is one of a handful of companies that have taken advantage of faster, more accurate systems, like those offered by Life Technologies, to tap into consumers' interest in predicting and preventing diseases.

New wave of Bay Area companies tame DNA data storm

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Andreas Sundquist is no medical doctor, but his expertise in electrical engineering and computer science places him and technologists like him on the cusp of solving some of the knottiest human medical problems.
Sundquist’s DNAnexus Inc. is one of at least a half-dozen young Bay Area companies using computational biology and genetics to unleash exabytes of stored genome sequencing data into everyday health care. By blending their computer algorithms and software with medical know-how, experts say, clouds full of cheaper and cheaper DNA data could rain down treatments and new drugs for previously mysterious and common medical conditions.
The burgeoning industry of genome analysis — at the intersection of the Bay Area’s high-tech and biotech expertise — could make some visionaries very rich. On the other hand, easy-to-use genetic data could turn today’s diagnostics industry upside down.
But to Sundquist and other pioneers, their companies’ value lies in volume and the ability to turn Big Data into big-time answers.
“You can argue that social networks are for rich kids, that Twitter is for value seekers,” Sundquist said. “But everybody has DNA.”

Crescendo Bioscience raises $56M, gives buyout option to Myriad

Myriad Genetics Inc. will invest $25 million in Crescendo Bioscience — with an option to buy the South San Francisco molecular diagnostics company — as Crescendo raises an additional $31 million in a Series C round.
The investment by Salt Lake City-based Myriad is structured as long-term debt and is nondilutive to current stockholders, Crescendo said in a press release Thursday. Myriad, best known for its monopoly on a genetic test for breast cancer risk, has a three-year option to buy Crescendo for cash at a predetermined multiple of revenue. That price is based on the growth rate of Crescendo when the option is exercised.

Prenatal diagnostic testing firm Verinata Health raises $46.5M

Verinata Health Inc. has raised $46.5 million in a third round of funding with an additional $2 million expected to close on August 31, the company said Tuesday.
The new round was led by existing investors Mohr Davidow Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and Alloy Ventures.

Technology births boom in prenatal testing

Fresh guidelines for prenatal testing, coupled with fast-improving technology, promises to give expectant parents an unprecedented look at their child’s development.
That could mean a hot new area of revenue for a handful of Bay Area companies working on a new generation of prenatal screening tests, but they’re in a race that is moving faster than baby steps.

1st COO at Mohr Davidow eyes right investment mix

Mohr Davidow Ventures has invested big dollars in life science, “clean” technology and other sectors in Silicon Valley — and now, it has hired someone to work full time on the business of the firm itself.
The Menlo Park-based venture capital firm announced May 6 that it hired Paul Cleveland as its first-ever chief operating officer. Cleveland also joined as a general partner.

Mohr Davidow hires Affymax CFO as first COO

Venture firm Mohr Davidow in Menlo Park created the job of chief operating officer and tapped Paul Cleveland to fill it.
Cleveland, who was chief financial officer at Affymax Inc. from January 2006 until February 2011, also becomes a general partner at Mohr Davidow.
As COO, Cleveland will handle all finance, operations and administration work at the firm.

One-on-one with Ventus Medical CEO Peter Wyles

Rest easy, the FDA approval process for medical devices isn’t always a nightmare. Ventus Medical Inc. has won three FDA approvals in just a few years for its therapy for obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA. Now with solid results from a 250-patient trial in hand, President and CEO Peter Wyles is aiming not to convince the FDA to approve the therapy but doctors to prescribe it. Wyles spoke with San Francisco Business Times biotech reporter Ron Leuty about his company's strategy with the therapy, branded as Provent, the sleep apnea market, durable medical equipment distributors and doctors.

Ventus rests easy with solid sleep apnea trial results

A device designed to treat obstructive sleep apnea helped patients breathe with fewer interruptions in a 250-patient clinical trial, according to developer Ventus Medical Inc.
The Provent Sleep Apnea Therapy from Belmont-based Ventus, which has been backed by De Novo Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures and Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., already has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and last month received its CE Mark certification from European regulators. The study, however, could provide further evidence to convince insurers to cover the device.

Massive Health raises $2.25M for venture based on health feedback app