Every day, Global University Venturing rounds up the smaller investments from across the university innovation ecosystem in its deal net.

Newronika, an Italy-based deep brain stimulation (DBS) system developer spun out of Policlinico of Milan and University of Milan, yesterday picked up €8.4m ($9.1m) in a series A round led by venture capital fund Omnes, with participation from Innogest Capital and Indaco Venture Partners, which took part through its Indaco Ventures I and Atlante Ventures funds. The round also included F3F and an unnamed family office. Newronika’s closed-loop system for DBS aims to restore body and brain function, and will initially be aimed at Parkinson’s disease. The series A round will support the company’s first in-human clinical trial, regulatory approval in the EU and investigational device exemption in the US. Innogest, Atlante Ventures, and F3F previously supplied $1.9m in seed capital in June 2016.
VideaHealth, a US-based startup that applies machine learning technology to analyse dental x-rays, has collected $5.4m in a seed round backed by Delta V, an accelerator operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, investment firm Pillar and venture capital fund Zetta Venture Partners. The money will allow VideaHealth to significantly increase its current headcount of seven staff and to drive research and development.
Mecaware, a France-based developer of technology to extract metals from waste recycling, has revealed it plans to raise €3m ($3.3m) in an upcoming funding round. The technology enables the industrial sector to gain access to rare earth materials and metals that are only found naturally in Asia, and will enable the entire manufacturing of products such as batteries in Europe. Mecaware currently exists as a project within French regional tech transfer office Pulsalys and is set to be formally incorporated in the first quarter of 2020. It will commercialise work by Julien Leclaire at University of Lyon.
Xpan, a Canada-based developer of minimally invasive surgical access instruments that was spun out of University of Toronto, yesterday obtained an undisclosed amount of seed funding form Facit’s Prospects Oncology Fund. Founded in November 2017, Xpan has created a trocar – a surgical instrument used for withdrawing fluid from a body cavity – that is less invasive yet expandable, reducing the risk of complications, lowering the cost and reducing the time of surgeries. Facit is a commercialisation firm tasked with advancing cancer treatments emerging from Ontario research.
Apmonia Therapeutics, a France-based immunotherapy spinout of University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (UMR), on Wednesday finalised an exclusive licence agreement for its lead asset, Tax2, with regional tech transfer office Satt Nord. Tax2 is expected to reduce tumour-associated vasculature, reduce the development of metastases and induce an anti-tumour immune response in patients. Tax2 is based on research by Apmonia co-founders Albin Jeanne and Stephane Dedieu, two researchers at UMR. Apmonia was established in April 2019.

Thierry Heles

Thierry Heles is the editor of Global University Venturing, host of the Beyond the Breakthrough interview podcast and responsible for the monthly GUV Gazette (sign up here for free).