Let’s catch up with the latest innovation news from Xconomy Texas.
—Early stage San Antonio, TX, startups can again tap into funds provided by the Texas Research & Technology Foundation (TRTF). The McDermott Legacy Fund, which is managed by the foundation’s subsidiary, the Texas Technology Development Center, is reloading a seed fund it operates that invests in early stage bioscience and technology companies with $1 million. The fund made six investments since 2010 in early seed rounds for companies including Invictus Medicine and StemBioSys.
—Filament Labs, an Austin, TX-based company that creates digital patient self-care programs with task reminders and educational information and videos, has built a healthcare app that works with patients battling chronic conditions or diseases. Called Patient IO, the app helps patients manage medication and track side effects, among other uses.
—5miles, a Dallas app company that brings garage sales to mobile devices, raised $30 million in a Series B+ round from investors such as IDG, Morningside, and individuals from Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce company. 5miles founder Lucas Lu formerly worked for Alibaba and named Dallas the app’s U.S. headquarters because he lived in the city while completing his doctorate in physics at Southern Methodist University.
—San Antonio, TX, biotech GenSpera has raised $2.5 million in order to continue an ongoing phase 2 study for its treatment, called mipsagargin or G-202. The company says the drug candidate has the potential to treat cancers ranging from brain to liver to prostate.
—Houston health IT company Decisio Health raised $2.1 million to market software that creates a digital dashboard for ER and ICU staff. Investors included Declatex, a group of investors who previously invested in the company, as well as healthcare entrepreneur Larry Lawson, who joined Decisio’s board of directors.
—BioHouston feted its latest batch of women executives in science as part of its “Women in Science With Excellence” awards. This year’s honorees included Claire Farley, at private equity firm KKR; Ellen Gritz, professor of behavioral science at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center; and Ellen Ochoa, former astronaut and director of the Johnson Space Center.
