LOS ANGELES & RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Gemelli Biotech Corp. (“Gemelli”), a company focused on improving health by providing precision diagnostics for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, today announced the completion of a $19 million Series A financing. Blue Ox Healthcare Partners (“Blue Ox”), a private equity firm providing growth capital to companies targeting precision health and value-based care, led the investment round, joined by founding investor Cedars-Sinai, along with Carolina Angel Network, CerraCap Ventures, and several family offices.
Gemelli will use the capital raised to accelerate the commercialization of its trio-smart® and ibs-smart® precision diagnostic tests, including expanding sales and marketing across the US and the scale-up of laboratory and manufacturing capacity, as well as its operational footprints in Raleigh and Los Angeles.
“Our innovative, non-invasive diagnostic technologies advance the level of actionable, scientifically validated biomarker and analytic information that enables clinicians to more definitively detect and optimize treatment of patients with gastrointestinal diseases,” said Matt Mitcho, Gemelli Biotech’s co-founder and CEO. “This funding – combined with the involvement and insights of this well-regarded group of investors – will enable us to accelerate our business and bring our leading diagnostic testing products to more people.”
Gemelli has launched two products: trio-smart® – the only clinical breath test that measures levels of hydrogen, methane, and hydrogen sulfide to provide clinicians and patients with a more complete picture of gut health – and ibs-smart® – a patented diagnostic blood test for post-infectious irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Both products were developed in partnership with the Medically Associated Science and Technology program at Cedars-Sinai.
“We are particularly pleased to partner with Gemelli and help them grow as a leading innovator of diagnostic tests which are convenient and provide actionable information for physicians treating IBS, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and other GI diseases. The combination of improving individualized patient outcomes and reducing expenditures for costly and complex to diagnose conditions like IBS is compelling and fits our thesis around precision diagnostics and value based care,” said John Neczesny, Managing Partner of Blue Ox Healthcare Partners.
“We are proud to support Gemelli as they develop groundbreaking advancements in precision diagnostics for GI diseases like IBS and SIBO, adding to the fundamental shift underway in healthcare towards optimizing patient diagnosis and treatment, with increasing focus on their experience and value-driven care,” added Abhi Mukherjee, Operating Partner at CerraCap Ventures.
IBS is estimated to affect approximately 800 million people, or around one in 10, globally.1 More than 35 million Americans suffer from IBS2 and, of those, up to 80% also experience SIBO.3 Unlike current treatment protocols reliant on exclusion, ibs-smart® can offer a clear positive diagnosis, preventing potentially unnecessary invasive procedures and opening a faster path to treatment. The company’s trio-smart® product, which aids in the identification of SIBO, uses a proprietary sealed breath collection system and a highly precise gas measurement device, providing both reliable sample collection and significant reduction of the risk of false positives and false negatives.
About Gemelli Biotech
Gemelli Biotech Corp. is focused on improving health by providing precision diagnostics for GI diseases. Founded in 2018, Gemelli’s mission is to leverage leading biological discoveries related to the microbiome to provide non-invasive precision diagnostics which enable clinicians to definitively detect scientifically validated biomarkers and optimally treat GI diseases including SIBO, IMO, excess hydrogen sulfide, and post-infectious IBS. Its portfolio includes the ibs-smart® blood test for the diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome and the trio-smart® breath test which provides a more complete picture of gut health. Learn more at www.gemellibiotech.com or connect on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
About Blue Ox Healthcare Partners, LLC
Blue Ox Healthcare Partners, LLC is a private equity investment firm focused on providing capital to growth stage healthcare companies targeting the industry’s transformation to precision health and value-based care. Blue Ox targets emerging companies in the middle market with commercial products and solutions in healthcare services, HCIT, and medical and life sciences technologies, whose innovations, strategies, and operations are poised for growth. The Firm invests in companies where it believes its team’s operational expertise and deep healthcare industry experience can be leveraged to a company’s long-term benefit. For additional information, please visit www.blueoxhcp.com.
Sources:
- Nature, “Global burden of irritable bowel syndrome: trends, predictions and risk factors,” 15 April 2020.
- The American Gastroenterological Association, “IBS in America: Survey Summary Findings,” December 2015.
- NIH, “Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth and Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Bridge between Functional Organic Dichotomy,” 15 March 2017.
