Sonio SAS raised just over $5 million in its seed round to develop artificial intelligence (AI) software allowing health care professionals to determine the most appropriate pregnancy care. Its Sonio Diagnostic software delivers decision support for fetal ultrasound used in antenatal diagnostics.

In the last decade, Bayer AG and Novartis AG have shown that radiopharmaceutical technology can produce marketable drugs, with Xofigo (radium-223 dichloride) and Lutathera (lutetium [177Lu] oxodotreotide), respectively approved for prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumors.

Bright Uro Inc. has emerged from stealth mode with $4 million in seed financing from Academy Investor Network, Fred Moll and several other angel investors. The company also secured a $2 million phase II small business innovation research (SBIR) grant from the NIH.

University of Edinburgh spinoff Biocaptiva Ltd. has raised an additional $2.6 million (£2.1 million) in seed financing for its cell free DNA (cfDNA) capture device, Biocaptis. Business angel syndicate Archangels led the round, with participation from Scottish Enterprise and Cancer Research Horizon, the innovation engine of Cancer Research UK. 

After raising $17 million in seed funding, immunotherapy-focused biotech company, LTZ Therapeutics Inc., is announcing plans for the fledgling company whose acronym stands for “Lift to Zenith.” CEO and co-founder Robert Li told BioWorld that the company’s three-tiered immunotherapy platform will focus on reducing immunosuppression, reprogramming innate immunity and modulating adaptive immunity.

Epitopea Ltd. raised $13.6 million in seed financing to take forward a new cancer immunotherapy platform based on the identification of a new class of tumor-specific antigens encoded by non-canonical genomic sequences.

Pangea Biomed Ltd. picked up $7 million in seed financing to fast-track development of its multicancer, multitherapy response predictor Enlight. The platform combines machine learning and RNA sequencing to map tumor molecular signatures and predict how different cancer types will respond to oncology drugs. Pangea said instead of using transcriptomic data, it is utilizing ‘unsupervised’ AI techniques that harvest information about gene interactions.

Zeta Surgical Inc. has raised $5.2 million in seed funding to improve the accuracy and safety of image-guided surgical procedures through its Zeta neurosurgical navigation platform. Zeta CEO Jose Maria Amich told BioWorld the funding will also advance a non-invasive ultrasound system for imaging the brain and help complete initial clinical studies for its FDA approvals application.

To counter the worldwide growth of antimicrobial resistance, a subject of worldwide concern but little actual progress, Arrepath Inc. has raised a $20 million seed financing to advance its machine learning-based platform for discovering new classes of anti-infectives.

U.K. startup Tympahealth Technologies Ltd. has received $8 million in seed financing for commercialization of its point-of-care hearing health assessment system. The Tympa system is a CE marked and FDA-registered device for high-resolution ear drum visualization, ear wax removal and hearing screening assessments. Health care entrepreneurs Maurice Ferre and Arjun Desai led the financing round.