Triton Technology Fund (TTF) announces their seed round investment in Abreos Biosciences, a seed stage healthcare company with breakthrough technology for precision dosing of biologics.
Funds from the seed round are enabling Abreos to accelerate their commercialization plan, expand their marketing and business development teams, and establish major clinical research partnerships in the US and Europe. Abreos has built impressive core leadership and advisory teams, and plans to initiate clinical studies with their first two products in the second half of 2016.
The issue of personalized medicine and precision dosing was directly addressed in President Obama’s 2015 State of the Union Address. He declared that, ‘Doctors have always recognized that every patient is unique, and doctors have always tried to tailor their treatments as best they can to individuals. You can match a blood transfusion to a blood type – that was an important discovery¦. What if figuring out the right dose of medicine was as simple as taking our temperature?’
The impact of the biologics market is significant:
Biologic drugs are the largest growth segment of the pharmaceutical industry.
Biologic drugs are often used for management of chronic diseases, and have been successful in mitigating these conditions.
Due to the pharmacokinetic variability in individuals, the clinical response to biologic drugs is highly heterogeneous. Although dosing regimens differ somewhat, it is usually a one-dose-fits-all approach.
Biologic drugs, which are increasingly used for the treatment of oncology and immunology diseases, are often associated with a heavy price tag, with an average annual cost per patient ranging from $20,000 to over $100,000 per year.
The leadership and advisory teams include the original inventors of the technology from UC San Diego, Dr. Bradley Messmer and Dr. Thomas Kipps, and the executive chairman, Neil Senturia. They have decades of experience researching creative healthcare solutions. ‘Biologics are becoming the dominant therapeutic option for many serious and chronic diseases. These drugs are revolutionizing medicine, but are expensive and must be handled and administered very carefully. We are determined to make sure that patients receive precisely the right amount, with full confidence in the integrity of their therapy,’ says Bradley Messmer, Ph.D., founder and CEO of Abreos Biosciences. ‘Through our simple point-of-care tests that measure and ensure the validity of these high-value biologic drugs, we will bring peace of mind to patients, healthcare providers, biopharma companies and insurers alike.’
‘Their breakthrough technology, strong intellectual property and outstanding team, certainly got our attention. We knew Abreos would be a great fit for the TTF portfolio,’ says Dave Schwab, Managing Partner at Triton Technology Fund and Vertical Venture Partners. Larry Morgan, Executive in Residence for the von Liebig Center, added, ‘We are pleased with the progress Abreos is making with our investment, and it is exciting to see how they are meeting their milestones leading up to the product launch later this year.’
About Abreos Biosciences: Founded in 2013 at UCSD by Dr. Messmer and Dr. Kipps, Abreos has the exclusive license to the issued patent for developing point-of-care devices that monitor the levels of biologic drugs in patients for precision dose guidance. With this capability, patients can ensure they are receiving and maintaining the right amount of these expensive and efficacious medications, enabling better outcomes at a lower cost. Abreos has developed tests for the top biologic drugs used in autoimmune and neurology disorders, and cancer.
About Triton Technology Fund: Triton Technology Fund (TTF) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vertical Venture Partners (VVP). TTF invests in companies commercializing technologies which are being developed at UC San Diego (UCSD) or by UCSD alumni. Companies can originate in any school including: Jacobs School of Engineering, Rady School of Management, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, or the Medical School. Technology areas of interest include cloud applications, analytics, social media, mobile, materials, medical devices, digital health, healthcare IT, instruments, and cloud software infrastructure. Of particular interest are technologies that can be matched with a targeted vertical market. For more information, interested parties may contact TTF at info@tritontechnologyfund.com.
About Vertical Venture Partners: Vertical Venture Partners is a venture capital firm focused on investments in companies that target specific vertical markets. Some vertical markets of interest include Retail, Healthcare, Transportation, Insurance, Financial Services and Telecommunications. Some technology areas of interest include: analytical applications, cloud applications, mobile, vertical CRM, cyber-security, and software infrastructure. Vertical Venture Partners will invest at any stage of a company’s growth and can help companies accelerate their business. For more information, interested parties may contact VVP at info@verticalventurepartners.com.
About the von Liebig Entrepreneurism Center: The von Liebig Center is a nationally recognized Proof of Concept Center with a mission to accelerate the commercialization of university discoveries. Housed at UC San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering since its founding in 2002, the von Liebig Center has helped more than 200 innovator teams conduct proof of concept studies and market research through a combination of gap funding, expert mentorship and entrepreneurial education. To date, the Center has helped launched more than 45 startup companies.
