Jerome Brody, MD Joins Company as Chief Scientific Officer
BOSTON, March 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Allegro Diagnostics, a leader in the
field of molecular diagnostics for lung cancer, has announced completion of
$4 million in Series A financing. Kodiak Venture Partners led the round and
was joined by Catalyst Health Ventures and Boston University. Allegro
Diagnostics will develop and commercialize products based on gene
expression technology developed by Jerome Brody, MD and Avrum Spira, MD,
MSc within the Pulmonary Center at the Boston University School of
Medicine. Jerome Brody, MD, formerly head of the Pulmonary Center, has
joined Allegro Diagnostics as the company's Chief Scientific Officer.
"We are truly fortunate to have a team with world class science and
financial backing from outstanding venture partners," said Dan Rippy,
President and CEO of Allegro Diagnostics. "The Series A financing will
enable us to take our first product, based on intellectual property
developed at the Boston University School of Medicine, into the clinic to
provide earlier, more accurate diagnosis of suspected lung cancer for
patients and their doctors. The clinical community considers earlier
identification of lung cancer a major unmet need in treating the disease,
so our diagnostic should provide significant benefit."
In conjunction with the financing, Andrey Zarur, General Partner with
Kodiak Venture Partners, and Josh Phillips, General Partner with Catalyst
Health Ventures, joined the company's board of directors. "Allegro opens a
novel alternative to assist physicians in diagnosing and potentially
treating lung cancer," said Andrey Zarur, who became Chairman of the
company as part of this round of financing. "Kodiak is very excited to join
the world-leading scientists and first-class entrepreneurial team at
Allegro."
"Catalyst is pleased to participate in the exciting work Allegro is
furthering in the diagnosis of lung cancer," said Josh Phillips, General
Partner with Catalyst Health Ventures. "Allegro's technology is extremely
promising and has the potential to bring real value to patients by
providing earlier, more accurate, and less invasive diagnosis of this
devastating disease."
About Lung Cancer
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the industrialized
world, responsible for more than 1.3 million deaths per year worldwide. In
the U.S., lung cancer kills more people than colon, breast, prostate, and
ovarian cancers combined. According to the American Cancer Society, more
than 200,000 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed each year in the U.S.,
and more than 160,000 deaths occur annually from the disease. While lung
cancer can be cured by surgery if caught in the early stages, 65-80% of
lung cancer patients present with late stage disease. The five-year
survival rate for lung cancer patients is roughly 15%, a rate that has
remained unchanged for several decades.
About Allegro Diagnostics
Allegro Diagnostics was founded in 2006 to develop and commercialize
molecular diagnostics in lung cancer and other epithelial diseases using
proprietary gene expression technology originating within the Pulmonary
Center at the Boston University School of Medicine. The company will
initially focus on more accurate diagnosis of early stage lung cancer.
Allegro Diagnostics is privately funded by Kodiak Venture Partners,
Catalyst Health Ventures, and Boston University. For more information,
visit the website of Allegro Diagnostics at: http://www.allegrodx.com.
About Kodiak Venture Partners
Founded in 1999, Kodiak manages three funds totaling $676M and targets
companies in North America. Kodiak focuses on seed and early stage
investments in emerging communications/wireless, semiconductor/equipment,
software/services, internet/new media, and life technology companies.
Kodiak's partners are successful high-technology business entrepreneurs who
take a hands-on approach to building market leaders. Previous Kodiak
investments have included ALIS Corporation, Fluxion Biosciences, and Groove
Mobile. For more information on Kodiak Venture Partners, visit:
http://www.kodiakvp.com.
About Catalyst Health Ventures
Catalyst Health Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm
targeting technology solutions applied within the health care and life
science industries. At the core of its strategy is a committed, hands-on
approach to working with management and syndicate partners to build
successful companies. Our disciplined investment process leverages both
intellectual and financial capital to originate deals, cultivate
opportunities, and realize the full potential of emerging ventures in the
health care and life science marketplace. For more information on Catalyst
Health Ventures, visit: http://www.catalysthealthventures.com.
SOURCE Allegro Diagnostics
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Related links:
http://www.allegrodx.com
http://www.kodiakvp.com
http://www.catalysthealthventures.com
CONTACT:
Dan Rippy of Allegro Diagnostics, Inc.,
+1-617-414-6990, drippy@allegrodx.com
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