Diasome Pharmaceuticals Inc., the Cleveland startup that is developing a helper drug to treat diabetes, has topped a list of Northeast Ohio companies that raised investor money during the third quarter.
Northeast Ohio startups raised $78 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, according to a Cleveland Business Journal analysis of data released Thursday by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. That's up 44% from about $54 million raised in last year's third quarter.
Diasome Pharmaceuticals
Last month, Diasome raised up to $20 million to continue clinical trials for its drug that enables the liver to absorb insulin, which helps prevent hypoglycemia in people who have diabetes.
If the drug succeeds in its late-stage clinical trials, Diasome likely would license its technology to or be acquired by a "top global pharmaceutical company," said Kent Manson, Diasome's vice president of strategy and commercial development. And if that happens, the company's diabetes drug could be available by 2026, Manson said.
Champ Titles
Also last month, Champ Titles said it had raised $12.9 million to continue developing its technology to speed up the automobile title transfer process.
Stylized as CHAMPtitles in its branding, Champ Titles uses technology such as blockchain to reduce the cost of handling auto titles for government, insurance carriers, financial institutions, vehicle sellers and buyers.
In all, the startup based in downtown Cleveland has raised more than $30 million, the company said.
Trailhead Biosystems
Earlier this week, Trailhead Biosystems Inc. completed a $10 million fundraise to accelerate its growth as a maker of specialized human cells used in medical research.
The Beachwood, Ohio-based startup uses skin or blood cells that have been reprogrammed back into an embryonic-like state to produce specialized cells used in research to address diseases including Type I diabetes, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer's.
Innago
The real estate technology company Innago, whose technical team is in Hudson, Ohio, raised $8 million to continue developing its software that enables landlords to manage their properties.
Last year, Innago, whose sales, marketing and customer support team works out of Cincinnati, launched a landlord app that enables property owners to track applications, maintenance requests, payments and more from a smartphone, the company said in a statement.
