Penn Startups Raising Money in 2023

There are a wide range of Penn spinouts across industries that are working on innovative and transformative products and projects. Below is a list of Penn startups currently raising money in 2023.

Digital Health Companies 

  1. CareAlign (seed) is a HIPAA Complaint task management platform that reduces the risk of communication related medical errors while also reducing the documentation burden on providers of care. Half of CareAlign’s customers use the platform stand-alone while the other half integrate CareAlign into their EHR to create a paperless rounding and handoff experience. 
  1. Cogwear (seed) is creating the first clinical-grade, cognitive wearable for active situations powered by nanotechnology sensors, machine learning, and breakthrough science. Their nanotechnology EEG sensors perform as well as the best clinical-grade wet electrodes, with the convenience and longevity of dry electrodes, to provide high-quality brain insights on the go. 
  1. Galileo (seed) is developing decision support tools for medical professionals assessing medical images. 
  1. Neuralert Technologies (seed) is developing non-invasive, wrist-worn medical devices to automatically detect and alert to the onset of stroke in real-time using a proprietary algorithm. 
  1. Quantaras (series A) offers advanced body-wide quantification of medical images for applications in radiology, radiation oncology, and medical oncology. Its unique Automatic Anatomy Recognition software supports recognition and delineation of anatomical objects and diseased tissue in multiple body regions in MRI, CT, and PET/ CT images. Formerly QRS. 
  1. TAIRIS (seed) is improving neurosurgery and neurosurgeons through anatomical pattern recognition assistance. 
  1. Vital Start Health (seed) focus is on complete well-being & mental health as the fifth Vital Sign, clinically guided, measurable and personalized for each person at every stage of their care journey. 

Diagnostic Companies 
 

  1. ACE Genomics (seed) is developing enzymes to assess epigenetic modifications to allow for advanced research tools and diagnostics. 
  1. Chip Diagnostics (series A) is commercializing an innovative hardware and data/AI informatics platform, used to develop novel, exosome-based biomarker signatures for early disease diagnostics and therapy management. Our solutions enable extremely accurate “fingerprinting” of a broad range of disease states, offering inexpensive, and less time and resource-intensive workflows across drug discovery and diagnostics use cases. 
  1. FloBio (seed) is developing a rapid, near patient diagnostic for bleeding and thrombotic risk in emergency and critical care settings. Using our microfluidic platform technology that mimics the body’s blood clotting process, FloBio’s first product fills the information gap in managing the treatment of at-risk patients on direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs), where no widely accessible or FDA approved test is available. 
  1. Instanosis (seed) focuses on commercialization of an innovative and broadly-applicable point-of-care platform to detect ultra-low concentrations of disease biomarkers, with the lead application being an ultrasensitive and low- cost COVID antigen test. 
  1. Vellum Biosciences (seed) is designing non-invasive imaging tools that can effectively monitor the kinetic profiles, biodistribution, and trafficking patterns of cell and gene therapies in patients. 

Advanced Materials Companies 

  1. EnaChip (series A) is developing and commercializing a disruptive technology platform compatible with existing semiconductor manufacturing. Their innovative materials and manufacturing process for power management components, that exist in every electronic device, enables up to 70% solution size reduction, up to 30% efficiency increase, and up to 3X cost reduction. 
  1. Hydropore (seed) is developing a new approach for producing Hydrogen in a cost effective and sustainable process. 

Therapeutic Companies 

  1. Cantius Therapeutics (seed) has a unique and well-placed strategy to treat cachexia and block nausea/emesis. GRASP technology utilizes small peptides that penetrate the brainstem to antagonize the GFRAL-Ret receptor complex. This receptor complex, expressed exclusively in the brainstem, was recently established as the sole mediator of GDF15 (MIC-1) signaling, a cytokine critical in disease-induced cachexia, anorexia, and emetic behaviors from cancer, chemotherapy, and pregnancy-induced morning sickness. 
  1. Carousel Therapeutics (series A) is blazing the trail for adaptable and controllable cell therapy medicines to treat cancer, using their next generation Sortase Universal Immune Receptor. Their best-in-class switchable CAR platform provides flexible antigen targeting while addressing safety and persistence challenges of earlier cell therapies. 
  1. EpiVario (series A) is a preclinical stage biotechnology company that is developing neuroepigenetic modulators to treat memory related psychiatric disorders. Our newly discovered epigenetic regulatory mechanism, ACSS2, provides a target for treating memory-related neuropsychiatric disorders. Based on this paradigm-shifting finding, EpiVario is developing pharmacotherapeutics to treat anxiety and addiction disorders, including PTSD and alcohol use disorder. 
  1. Evinacel (seed) is developing a variety of technologies that enable improved gamma delta T-cell therapy, a novel DR5 CAR construct, and an exosome therapy platform. 
  1. Hysplex (seed) is developing small molecule PARP inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and neurological disorders. 
  1. Interius Biotherapeutics (Series B) Preclinical gene therapy company developing novel methods for in vivo cell-specific gene delivery with multi-product potential. Based on inventions from the laboratory of Dr. Saar Gill, a leading physician-scientist in the fields of cell and gene therapy at the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies at the University of Pennsylvania. 
  1. Intervir (series A) is a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company with an experienced drug discovery team that is focused on first in-class antiviral therapeutics. Intervir’s novel, host-oriented mechanism of action disrupts budding, release and dissemination of viruses. Target indications are deadly hemorrhagic viruses and emerging and mutating viruses such as SARS-CoV2. The company is seeking funding of $7 million to advance through a phase I trial. 
  1. LignaMed (series A) is dedicated to developing breakthrough treatments for asthma, organ transplant viability, and fibrosis. 
  1. Linnaeus Therapeutics (series C) is a privately held clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel small molecule oncology therapies. 
  1. LuxFiat (series A) is developing gene therapies for inherited retinal diseases to cure genetic forms of blindness 
  1. Mechano Therapeutics (seed) is developing a novel microcapsule platform technology for therapeutic delivery in a wide range of musculoskeletal tissue applications. 
  1. Neurokappa Therapeutics (seed) is developing novel medications for neurological diseases including stroke, pain, and addiction through a deep understanding of opioid receptors. 
  1. Nia Therapeutics (series A) is developing responsive neurostimulation therapies for patients with dementia and other memory disorders. 
  1. PhylloPharma (series A) is developing a novel plant-based technology platform for cost-effective and shelf-stable protein delivery. 
  1. Pinpoint Therapeutics (series A) is developing novel cancer treatment options aimed to specifically inhibit autophagy, a key cell survival and treatment resistance pathway in cancer. Pinpoint inhibitors target a recently discovered enzyme in the autophagy pathway called PPT1, which is highly expressed across most cancers. These inhibitors could be applied to a broad range of cancers alone or in combination to overcome therapy resistance. 
  1. Trevarx LLC (seed) is developing a PARP inhibitor theragnostic platform to treat cancers. The combination of molecular imaging and radionuclide therapy is designed to precisely target specific tumor tissue. 
  1. Verismo Therapeutics (series A) is pioneering novel chimeric antigen receptor T-cells for cancer using CARs engineered to mimic the natural multichain design of killer immunoglobulin- like receptors (KIRs), an important family of immunologic receptors used by T- cells and NK cells. This novel KIR-CAR design is anticipated to improve persistence and efficacy against the most aggressive solid tumors. 
  1. Vetigenics (seed) is an animal health biopharmaceutical company committed to improving the health of companion animals through the development of entirely species-specific, safe and effective antibody-based immunotherapies to treat their cancers and other chronic diseases. 
  1. ViTToria Biotherapeutics, Inc (series A) aims to transcend the current limitations of chimeric antigen receptor therapeutics by employing novel cell engineering and gene editing technologies to create therapies that address unmet clinical needs. 

Medical Device Companies 

  1. AltruMed (seed) is focused on medical technologies in the harm reduction space, developing an armband that detects an opioid overdose and automatically injects the antidote. 
  1. Neoneur (seed) is focused on the monitoring and assessment of neonate and infant feeding development, a key development parameter. 
  1. Ostiio (seed) has a novel approach to correct craniofacial deformities and deficiencies utilizing a fully implantable, magnetically-driven, bony distraction device. 
  1. Ventru (seed) is developing neurosurgical innovations that improve safety and accessibility. Its novel Device for Intraventricular Entry (DIVE) is a stereotactic guide that assists surgeons with the safe placement of drains for patients suffering from hydrocephalus. 
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