Verix Health Secures $8M Series A Funding to Advance Minimally Invasive Devices for Cancer Treatment

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that on October 22, 2019, Verix Health (formerly Greppo Technologies) announced the completion of an $8 million Series A financing round. The round was led by Ajax Health, with participation from Aperture Venture Partners and Western Technology Investment.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Verix Health is an incubatee of the Pennovation Center, a business hub in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was co-founded by Professor Mark Yim of the University of Pennsylvania and the venture capital firm PCI Ventures.

The company is a medical device startup dedicated to actively steerable surgical equipment, enabling minimally invasive treatment of anatomical structures that are difficult for interventional radiologists to access.

The company aims to develop devices that minimize patient harm, thereby reducing complications, shortening hospital stays, and lowering both hospital expenditures and patients’ medical costs. Currently, Verix Health is developing a series of controllable devices to enable minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment of cancerous lesions in solid organs. This round of funding will support ongoing R&D activities and prepare for product commercialization.

Sasha Schrode, CEO of Verix Health, stated, “Our vision is to create a platform capable of advanced diagnosis and treatment for a wide range of diseases. We are honored to have the support of Ajax Health, Aperture, and WTI. Through this collaboration, we will make significant strides in innovative medical devices, which will have a profound impact on patients.”

“Verix Health aims to address a critical, unmet need: delineating complex anatomical structures to enable the diagnosis and interventional treatment of tumors. We are delighted to join this team and help them fulfill their mission of creating benefits and value for patients,” said Duke Rohlen, Chairman and CEO of Ajax Health.

In addition to capital, Ajax Health has also brought several executives to the Verix Health management team, with Rohlen serving as Executive Chairman of Verix, Doug Koo as CFO, and Joe Koblish as CTO. Rohlen previously held executive positions at companies including EPIX Therapeutics, Spirox, CV Ingenuity, and FoxHollow Technologies.

Ajax Health, headquartered in Menlo Park, California, is dedicated to identifying, investing in, and scaling disruptive technologies in the healthcare sector. The Ajax team plays an active operational role, helping companies of all sizes, stages, and structures achieve their value objectives.

Aperture Venture Partners is an innovative firm dedicated to investing in the medical devices, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, and diagnostics sectors.

WTI was founded in 1980 and pioneered the concept of venture debt to address the significant capital demands in the market. WTI provides financing for early- to mid-stage technology businesses within investment portfolios, helping visionary entrepreneurs transform their operations and realize their full potential.

PCI Ventures is dedicated to supporting the commercialization of technology within the University of Pennsylvania community. Since 2010, PCI Ventures has collaborated with more than 200 faculty members to establish companies based on selected inventions and innovative technologies. Currently, PCI Ventures focuses on investing in companies in the fields of life sciences, medical devices, healthcare management, advanced materials, information technology, and robotics.

(Compiled by Jiang Ying)