91´«Ã½

Illumen Therapeutics is pursuing a moonshot to restore functional p53 by developing first-in-class drug inhibitors of the enzyme PARN to treat cancer. The PARN inhibition strategy represents a breakthrough in oncology drug development. The company is advancing its potent early lead compounds through structure-enabled optimization in drug design.

Current Capital Raise: $3 Million Pre-Seed
Contact: Bob Blomquist, bob@IllumenTx.com

Renovare Therapeutics is a biotech company developing regenerative therapies for osteoarthritis that have demonstrated the ability to fully restore degenerated cartilage following a single injection in animal models, as featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and WIRED. Renovare's portfolio of products was developed in partnership with a team of researchers at 91´«Ã½, which was awarded a non-dilutive grant of up to $33.5 million by ARPA-H. The company's two lead assets are entering IND-enabling studies now, with goals to initiate Phase 1 studies by 2028.

Current Capital Raise: $6 Million Seed
Contact: Liz Scott, liz.scott@renovaretx.com

Nearly half of U.S. adults have hypertension, yet we're still relying on 130-year-old cuff technology to measure it. VitaWave Tech is changing that with the eBP platform, the first in-ear blood pressure monitor delivering medical-grade, cuffless accuracy to enable actionable insights for hypertension management. VitaWave is developing a commercializable prototype by the end of the year, with FDA submission and clinical pilots in 2027.

Current Capital Raise: $1.2 Million ($800,000 Raised to Date) Pre-Seed
Contact: Jason McGowin, jmcgowin@vitawavetech.com