A Hong Kong-based stem-cell biotech company that’s tackling heart disease opened a flagship U.S. location at The Cove.
The Cove is the physical space of the University of California-Irvine’s innovation center, Applied Innovation. Novoheart’s office is its first in the U.S. and is based on the city’s access to skilled personnel and facilities, as well as being the home base of co-founder Michelle Khine, director of UCI’s Bio-Entrepreneurial Program, said Chief Executive Ronald Li. Novoheart also has an office in Vancouver.
It bioengineered the MyHeart platform, including a human miniheart novoHeart, which is capable of pumping and that the company calls a 3-D heart-in-a-jar. Novoheart says it’s the first in the world to engineer the miniature living human heart pumps, created with human stem cells, which Li said can help with drug discovery and save time and money in creating therapies.
The pumps are used by drug developers, ranging from biotech to pharmaceutical, for preclinical testing for effectiveness and safety of new drugs for electro-physiological and circulation heart conditions.
Heart disease is responsible for 17.7 million deaths each year, accounting for more than 30% of all deaths worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. Drug discovery is typically lengthy and costly, and animal models can be unreliable. Side effects of drugs in the realm include fatal heart rhythm disorders and heart failure, according to news reports.
Novoheart’s goal is to eliminate toxic compounds in the drug development process and reduce patient risk. It plans to ultimately develop heart tissues into transplantable grafts for regenerative heart therapies.
The company was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange’s TSX Venture Exchange in September after a reverse takeover. Novoheart Holdings Inc., formerly Woodrose Ventures Corp., acquired all shares of Novoheart Holdings Ltd., a larger company.
Novoheart had about $500,000 in sales last year, said Li, who projected sales will increase next year as it scales commercial operations. It plans to boost revenue in the near future by marketing drug screening services and products to pharmaceutical companies and R&D institutions.
The company’s building a 5,000-square-foot-plus commercial lab in Hong Kong that’s on track to be finished in mid-December.
Novoheart has received approximately $10 million in funding, Li said. It launched in 2014. Li is a co-founder and has been a longtime advocate of stem cell technology. He founded and ran the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Consortium at the University of California-Davis.
Auto Loan Service
A Santa Ana company that helps people compare financial services launched an auto loan service on its website. SuperMoney allows users to receive competing auto loan offers for dealer purchase, private party, or auto-refinance loans. It’s in the same space as Irvine-based AutoGravity, which connects car buyers seeking auto loans with lenders, carmakers and dealerships.
The company started in 2013 with the goal of creating the “Yelp for financial services.” The early version has expanded to almost 40 financial service verticals, Chief Executive and Managing Partner Miron Lulic said. SuperMoney began as a side project and operated that way until last year, when website traffic started to take off, he said. Its personal loan service launched this past spring.
SuperMoney makes money through referral fees that some financial institutions with products on its site pay the company. In most cases, the fee is tied to a customer acquiring a financial product, such as a loan, credit card, or insurance. The company’s website traffic and use of its services is growing “exponentially,” Lulic said. Since launching its personal loan service in the second quarter, it’s generated more than $250 million in financing requests, he said.
SuperMoney now plans to move into other verticals, such as student loans and mortgages. It’s also entering the home-improvement loan space to serve contractors in a B2B capacity. It offers contractors a turnkey financing service to help potential customers finance home improvement projects.
The company hasn’t received outside funding, Lulic said. It’s been self-funded by an amount he declined to disclose.
Bits & Pieces
San Juan Capistrano-based Software Anywhere has transitioned from a traditional consulting firm to a tech startup. It recently raised $500,000, which it’s using to do a “soft launch” early next year, founder and Chief Executive Jeffrey Scott said. The company’s products include a number of business productivity apps built exclusively on the Salesforce.com platform. They range from account-based marketing lists and group builders to relationship tools that visualize your world and help prioritize your day. Kelly McGowan is new Executive CEO (a part-time operational or coaching CEO) and Desmond McGowan serves as a part-time chief financial officer. They’re the lead investors and based in New York City. Other staff additions include Chris Raskulinecz, formerly with Cox Automotive, who’ll head delivery and client-success teams.
