Sight Diagnostics Ltd. raised $71 million in series D financing to expand its commercial operations and increase research and development efforts into disease detection from its fingerprick blood analyzer Sight OLO.
On-demand mental health company Ginger.io scooped up $50 million in a series D round that was led by Advance Venture Partners and Bessemer Venture Partners. Participants also included Cigna Ventures and existing investors such as Jeff Weiner, executive chairman of Linkedin, and Kaiser Permanente Venture.
Out of 922 biopharma financings so far in 2020, nearly a quarter of them – 211 – were done by companies working on a COVID-19 therapeutic or vaccine. More strikingly, however, the $27.8 billion raised by those pandemic-focused firms represents about 40% of the $71.8 billion total collected through the end of July. That amount is the highest BioWorld has ever tracked.
Startup Conformal Medical Inc. has reeled in $85 million in a series C round to support a U.S. pivotal trial of its CLAAS technology, a device designed to seal off the heart’s left atrial appendage (LAA) to reduce the risk of stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation. The financing included participation from new investors Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC and an undisclosed strategic investor.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, Acutus Medical Inc. (NASDAQ:AFIB) decided to go down the IPO route. It officially started trading today after reporting its offering of more than 8.8 million shares of its common stock at $18 per share, with expected gross proceeds of $158.8 million. Last month, the Carlsbad, Calif.-based company estimated that the IPO price per share would be between $16 and $18.
Improving metabolic disorders without major changes in diet and exercise is typically seen as impossible, unless bariatric surgery is involved. But that’s precisely what Fractyl Laboratories Inc. aims to do. It plans to start a pivotal trial of its duodenal mucosal resurfacing system, Revita DMR, before year end.