STARTUPS & INNOVATIONS

LAUNCH

Irvine-based Kahala Biosciences LLC will provide voluntary COVID-19 testing for students and employees in the Chula Vista Elementary school district in San Diego.

Chula Vista, with about 30,000 students, recently began limited in-person student support sessions. Participants will receive an initial antibody test, followed by viral testing every two to three weeks to aid in relaxing restrictions as the school moves toward full reopening.

The company expects to receive insurance reimbursement from participants; the school district won’t be charged.

Kahala, led by Edwards Lifesciences Corp. alumnus Francis Duhay, launched earlier this year to help meet the demand for COVID-19 testing.

It provides antibody and viral tests that are FDA-approved or independently verified, as well as a blockchain-based smartphone application that allows test takers to quickly view test results.

“We’re not just a testing facility,” said Michael Yousef, vice president of sales. “We’re a full system: you call us, and we provide access to reliable antibody and viral tests, PPE, healthcare providers to administer the tests, logistics and 24/7 customer support.”

Kahala’s trained providers ensure that tests are properly administered, and results are typically available within 10 to 15 minutes (antibody testing) or 24 to 48 hours (viral testing), Yousef said.

Most importantly, “We provide our clients with a complete picture of the spread of the virus in their facility.”

In addition to Chula Vista, Kahala is working with private employers and nursing homes including the Villas of San Bernardino and the Del Obispo Terrace in San Juan Capistrano.

For more information, visit kahalabiosciences.com.

AtYourGate, a food order and delivery app for airports, says it will double its footprint by the end of the year.

The Ladera Ranch-based firm expects to add operations in 12 facilities including Los Angeles International Airport; it’s already running its service in 10 airports including John Wayne Airport and San Diego International Airport.

Rapid growth wasn’t on the books in March, according to Chief Executive PJ Mastracchio.

The company furloughed about 80 employees as the pandemic caused a number of airports to scale back operations. Once the initial shock of the crisis subsided, demand for AtYourGate took off, Mastracchio said.

“Pre-COVID we we’re interesting, post-COVID we’ve become essential.”

Airlines and airports started calling on AtYourGate to deliver food to their employees and flight crews in a safe, contactless manner.

The service is also accessible to passengers.

AtYourGate, which has raised some $6 million, now plans to bring back its furloughed employees and hire additional hospitality workers as it onboards new airports.

The company, founded in Laguna Beach in 2015, is currently raising a $10 million round.

San Clemente-based Somnera will launch its namesake product, an FDA-cleared device that treats sleep apnea, next month via its channel partner Agile Medical.

Sleep apnea is a medical condition that causes breathing to spontaneously stop during sleep and often exacerbates preexisting health conditions such as diabetes or dementia when left untreated.

Somnera, which was formerly known as Fresca Medical, touts its product as a lighter, easier-to-use device compared to CPAP machines, which have long been used to help sleep apnea patients.

CPAP machines require patients to wear a cumbersome mask during the night and bring about a significant change in patients’ lives, according to Chief Executive John Cox.

“More than half of sleep apnea patients that fill their prescription for CPAP therapy quit because CPAP is cumbersome, difficult to tolerate, and stigmatizing,” said Cox. “Our breakthrough technology uses dramatically less airflow to provide the same effective therapy and also allows the device and components overall to be much smaller and lighter.”

Furthermore, “each one of our patients will receive the Sleep Bridge Program, in which we have a trained respiratory therapist walk them through the process remotely, set expectations and offer continuous support.”

The all-inclusive product set will retail for $1,200.

The company, with eight employees and about $22 million raised to date, has opened a new round of funding.

FINANCING

The Innovation Institute, a La Palma-based health incubator with an innovation lab in Newport Beach, recently received a minority investment from Tacoma, Washington-based MultiCare Health System. 

Terms were not disclosed. 

MultiCare, which has a network of ten hospitals and more than 18,000 team members, will work with The Innovation Institute to improve patient care and reduce costs. 

“Health care must innovate to meet the complex and evolving needs of the communities we serve,” said Bill Robertson, chief executive of MultiCare. “Our partnership with The Innovation Institute, whose mission is to cultivate innovative solutions to transform healthcare, will uniquely position us to identify solutions to the challenges faced by the healthcare industry.

Additional member owners in The Innovation Institute are Children’s Hospital of Orange County; Avera Health; Bon Secours Mercy Health; Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady Health System; and Valley Children’s Healthcare in Madera County, Calif. 

Nonprofit health system owners must invest a minimum of $10 million in The Innovation Institute. 

Renton, Washington-based Providence, which owns St. Joseph Hospital in Orange and Mission Hospitals in Laguna Beach and Mission Viejo, previously owned a stake in the incubator.

NEW HIRES

Irvine-based Orbee Auto, a cloud-based marketing platform for the automotive industry, recently named Peter Fong chief revenue officer.

Fong joined Orbee as a strategic adviser six months ago. His résumé includes senior roles at Ford Motor Co., Chrysler and the National Automotive Dealers Association.

“Orbee Auto has shown the devotion and determination to assist automotive dealerships through the difficult world of digital marketing, and with that, it was an indisputable decision to join them,” Fong said.

Orbee Auto provides a variety of digital marketing tools for dealerships, including online advertisements, campaign tracking and personalized shopper insights.

The company, founded in 2015 and based at UCI Research Park, is led by Chief Executive Daniel Kim and Chief Operations Officer Atul Patel.

Brevvie, an Irvine-based product rental service, added new board advisers last month as it prepares to scale, said Chief Executive Kristine Everly. 

New members include Barbara Rea, most recently chief operating officer at Newport Beach-based BKM Capital Partners; Dave Barrows, former chief executive of Boudin Bakery; Jeff Cozad, founder of San Francisco-based Stonerise Capital Partners; and Chris Stiegal, an investment banker at Chicago-based First Analysis.

Stiegal is also the founder of Wigit, a consumer goods trade platform, which uses Brevvie’s software to power transactions. 

With the Brevvie app, users reserve and pay for rental products online and retrieve and return their items via an automated locker system, which doesn’t require human interaction. 

The company has seen steady growth in recent months amid demand for contactless processes, according to Everly, an Irvine Co. alumna. 

Brevvie lockers have been installed in several apartment complexes including Avalon Studio City in Los Angeles; and Bell Marymoor Park and Jackson Apartments in Redmond, Wash., among others.