Looks like a new single-drop-of-blood startup is is in the diagnostics arena: SalveoDx, a San Diego-based spinout of Domain Associates, just raised $2 million in equity.
Pieter van Rooyen, a director at SalveoDx and CEO of San Diego-based Edico Genome, said in an email that the company’s deep in stealth mode and is keeping quiet on what it’s doing.
Emblazoned on SalveoDx’s rudimentary site, however, are phrases like “your life in a drop of blood,” “information is power,” and “changing life and labs forever” – as well as colorful stock images of chemicals.
Given the recent focus on single drop of blood diagnostics, it’s safe to assume this Dx company is focusing on this hot segment of the industry. And it’s probably prudent to stay stealth at this point – Theranos is in a world of hurt following last week’s landmark Wall Street Journal piece that criticized the enigmatic startup’s diagnostic practices.
In the meantime, SalveoDx looks to be a Domain Associates venture, since investor Kim Kamdar is listed as an executive officer. Another director listed is Bala Manian, a medtech entrepreneur based in Silicon Valley.
Edico Genome, notably, is a tech-heavy startup that cuts down next-gen sequencing analysis times from 24 hours to just 18 minutes. Applying this expediency to a single drop of blood diagnostics startup could be powerful.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
