Subjects: PER, WOM, DEI
PINKDX LAUNCHES WITH $40 MILLION SERIES A FINANCING TO DEVELOP DIAGNOSTICS ADDRESSING UNMET MEDICAL NEEDS FOR WOMEN
The company, led by diagnostics industry veteran Bonnie Anderson,also names Alison Cowan, M.D., M.S.C.R., as chief medical officer
Catalio Capital Management and The Production Board co-led the financing, together with Mountain Group Partners, Byers Capital and Mayo Clinic
DALY CITY, Calif., April 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- PinkDx, Inc., an early-stage company focused on positively impacting the health of women throughout their life journey, today launched with $40 million in Series A financing. The company will use the funds to pursue its vision of identifying unmet medical needs that are unique to women, addressing them with scientific rigor, and providing answers that have an immediate, positive impact on their lives. The company will use a broad and deep scientific approach to test development, focusing initially on gynecological cancers.
The financing was co-led by Catalio Capital Management, LP, and The Production Board. Other investors include Mountain Group Partners, Byers Capital and Mayo Clinic.
"We are honored that this discerning group of investors recognized the tremendous potential of both our approach and our team," said Bonnie Anderson, cofounder, chairwoman and chief executive officer of PinkDx. "This funding, along with our best-in-class expertise, a proven discovery and development approach, and our commitment to clinical rigor, will enable us to solve critical challenges that today prevent women from receiving the best healthcare possible."
PinkDx will initially focus on improving the diagnostic outcomes for women who have vague symptoms that may signal a gynecological cancer. Each year in the United States, an estimated 1.5 million women1-3 present with general symptoms including bloating, pelvic pain and abnormal bleeding, for which the cause is not clear. Over 100,000 women in the U.S. are ultimately diagnosed with a gynecological cancer each year.4 PinkDx will develop solutions to replace invasive and painful diagnostic procedures and mitigate the significant delays women and their doctors often face in obtaining answers.
"Diagnosis of gynecological cancers has long been a challenge for women and their healthcare providers," said Isaac Ro, partner at Catalio and founding Board member of PinkDx. "We are thrilled to partner with Bonnie and support her team's rigorous science-based approach to assist physicians in giving women clear answers to important clinical questions."
PinkDx cofounders Bonnie Anderson and Giulia C. Kennedy, Ph.D., the company's chief scientific officer, utilized a similar approach of applying cutting-edge science to a clinical problem at Veracyte, the global diagnostics company that Ms. Anderson cofounded. Veracyte's pioneering Afirma® test was developed to reduce unnecessary, invasive procedures in the evaluation of potentially cancerous thyroid nodules and has since been broadly adopted as the diagnostic standard of care. Tim McMeekan, the third cofounder of PinkDx, serves as chief financial officer and chief business officer.
PinkDx also announced that Alison Cowan, M.D., M.S.C.R., has joined the company as chief medical officer and will guide the clinical development of PinkDx's solutions. Prior to joining PinkDx, Dr. Cowan served as head of Medical Affairs for Mirvie and before that as medical director for Hologic's Diagnostics division. She has 14 years of clinical experience in both academic and community settings and maintains a clinical practice as an OB/GYN hospitalist in Colorado. Dr. Cowan received her medical degree and master's in clinical research from Emory University and completed her OB/GYN residency at Northwestern University.
"We are delighted to have Dr. Cowan join our team," said Ms. Anderson. "With her extensive clinical and diagnostics experience, combined with her passion for leveraging new technology to improve the lives of women, she will be an incredible asset to our efforts."
About the PinkDx Team
PinkDx is led by an experienced team of diagnostics industry pioneers, executives and investors, including:
- Bonnie Anderson, cofounder, chairwoman and chief executive officer: Previously cofounded and served as chairwoman and chief executive officer of Veracyte.
- Giulia C. Kennedy, Ph.D., cofounder and chief scientific officer: Previously served as chief scientific officer and chief medical officer of Veracyte.
- Tim McMeekan, cofounder, chief financial officer and chief business officer: Co-owner of Sagian before becoming chief executive officer of privately held companies in the health and beauty sector.
- Alison Cowan, M.D., M.S.C.R., chief medical officer: Practicing OB/GYN who previously served in medical leadership roles at Mirvie and Hologic.
- Isaac Ro, Board member: Partner at Catalio Capital; previously served as executive chairman of Haystack Oncology and chief financial officer of Sema4 and Thrive Earlier Detection.
- Risa Stack, Ph.D., Board member: Partner at The Production Board; venture capital veteran who led investments in Genomic Health, Foundation Medicine and Veracyte.
- Joe Cook, III, Board member: Partner at The Mountain Group; led investment in Castle Biosciences.
- Kelly Krajnik, Board observer: Senior director of business development at Mayo Clinic.
- Matthew Hobson, Board observer: Principal at Catalio Capital.
About Catalio
Catalio Capital Management, LP, is a multi-strategy life sciences investment firm focusing on breakthrough biomedical technology companies developing the next generation of drugs, devices, diagnostics, and data-driven insights. Catalio has partnered with over 44 world-renowned scientists with extensive academic and scientific achievements who have each also started well-established companies based on their research. Catalio has offices in New York and London. Learn more about Catalio Capital Management by visiting www.cataliocapital.com.
About The Production Board
Founded by Dave Friedberg, The Production Board is a venture foundry and investment holding company established to solve the most fundamental problems that affect our planet by reimagining global systems of production across food, agriculture, biomanufacturing, human health, and the broader life sciences. TPB builds businesses based on emerging scientific discoveries, partners with exceptional talent, and provides them with the capital, infrastructure, and market insights needed to deliver meaningful improvement in the cost, energy, time, or carbon footprint of conventional systems. TPB is backed by leading strategic and financial investors, including Alphabet, Allen & Company LLC, Cascade, and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Baillie Gifford, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Counterpoint Global (Morgan Stanley), Foxhaven Asset Management, and Arrowmark Partners. Learn more about the company's work at www.tpb.co.
About Mountain Group Partners
Mountain Group Partners is a Nashville-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage companies, predominantly in the life science and disruptive technology sectors. The firm brings over 70 years of combined operational experience and has made investments in more than 75 companies. Mountain Group takes a hands-on approach to investing based on its deep operational experience and currently has over $300 million in assets under management. For more information on Mountain Group Partners, visit www.mtngp.com.
About PinkDx
PinkDx is an early-stage company focused on addressing the medical problems that women uniquely face by applying sophisticated scientific approaches to resolve them and providing answers that have an immediate, positive impact on their lives. The company's first indication will focus on overcoming diagnostic challenges for women who present with general symptoms that could signal a gynecological cancer. PinkDx is privately held, with Series A funding from prominent biotechnology investors, including Catalio Capital Management, The Production Board, Mountain Group Partners, Byers Capital and Mayo Clinic. The company's operations are in Daly City, California. For more information, please visit www.pinkdx.com.
Media Contact:
Tracy Morris
[email protected]
650-380-4413
1 Chelmow, D. et al. Executive Summary of the Uterine Cancer Evidence Review Conference. Obstetrics and Gynecology vol. 139 626?643 Preprint at https://doi.org/10.1097/AOG.0000000000004711 (2022).
2 Clarke, M. A. et al. Association of endometrial cancer risk with postmenopausal bleeding in women a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Intern Med 178, 1201?1208 (2018).
3 Siegel, R. L., Miller, K. D. & Jemal, A. Cancer statistics, 2020. CA Cancer J Clin 70, 7?30 (2020).
4 American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2024. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2024.
SOURCE PinkDx
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