Somatus Inc. has raised a massive $325 million funding round, the latest in a series of raises for the McLean health startup looking to improve kidney care in the U.S.
The round was led by Boston investment firm Wellington Management, and other new investors RA Capital Management and Fidelity Management & Research Co., also both of Boston, and GIC of Singapore also participated. Existing investors Flare Capital Partners and Optum Ventures, both of Boston; Northern Virginia’s Inova Health System and Longitude Capital of Menlo Park, California, also contributed.
Somatus indicated in the announcement the round was oversubscribed, that it raised more than $325 million, though it didn't indicate how much more. The raise brings Somatus’ total to date to $500 million and values the company at more than $2.5 billion, the company said in a press release. The Series E follows back-to-back $60 million-plus rounds in 2020 and 2021.
Somatus uses a new comprehensive care model for patients with chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease. The model includes a mobile app for patients to monitor their health and works with health care providers and insurers to provide kidney care for more patients, including those who do not yet require dialysis.
Its larger vision involves ensuring a foothold in the fast-growing dialysis market while improving outcomes for these patients by meeting them where they are and preventing hospital visits and readmissions, the Washington Business Journal’s Sara Gilgore reported in June.
The company said it added six new health plan partners in 2021 and added more than 1,000 employees, bringing its total to more than 1,350. It serves more than 150,000 patients in the U.S.
“Since our inception, Somatus has always been committed to bringing superior evidence-based integrated care to patients with kidney disease which delays disease progression, improves quality of life, and lowers total cost of care,” Somatus co-founder and CEO Dr. Ikenna Okezie said in a statement. “This investment puts us in a great position to fund the expansion of our proven care model.”
BofA Securities and J.P. Morgan served as co-placement agents to Somatus in the transaction.
People on the move
John Heller — Germantown government contractor Amentum Holdings LLC has named Heller as its new CEO just a few days after it closed on its $1.9 billion acquisition of PAE Inc. The choice is not totally out-of-the-box: Heller served as PAE's CEO from 2013 until March 2021, when he abruptly stepped down from his post with the Falls Church defense contractor "for personal reasons." Amentum and PAE announced their combination in October, and the deal closed Feb. 15, Amentum said. Heller will replace John Vollmer, who has led Amentum since it launched in 2020. Amentum was created when AECOM (NYSE: ACM) sold its managed services business to investors American Securities LLC and Lindsay Goldberg. Vollmer will stay on as Amentum's board chair.
Quotable
“We’re concerned about the traffic that this stadium and the attached development with it will incur in the area. We’re concerned about the overdevelopment of that particular area, so we’re most certainly concerned about the implications of any sort of development along those lines but we are adamantly opposed to any tax money going to the stadium.” — Leesburg Mayor Kelly Burk to WUSA 9 about the Leesburg Town Council voting 6-to-1 this week to send a letter to the Loudoun County Board saying it opposes a new stadium for the Washington Commanders being built anywhere in the county. Vice Mayor Fernando Martinez was the lone vote against the measure, saying Leesburg officials didn't take a good look at the economic advantages a stadium could bring. The team has said it is open to locating a new stadium in Maryland, D.C. or Virginia, though a separate WUSA 9 report Thursday indicates its efforts may be focused on three sites in Virginia: one in Sterling, another in Woodbridge and a third in Dumfries.
Odds and ends
- In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. announced sweeping restrictions on technological exports to Russia. (New York Times)
- A boardroom battle at Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. is playing out in lawsuits and clouding the future of the California rocket engine maker after the collapse of its planned $4.4 billion sale to Bethesda's Lockheed Martin Corp. (Wall Street Journal)
- Construction on the new Potomac Yard Metro station in Alexandria is 70% complete. City officials are hopeful it will open in the fall. (ALXnow)
- The National Conference Center in Leesburg will serve as a processing center for more newly arrived Afghan refugees. (Washington Post)
- Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott is lifting the city's indoor mask mandate next week. (Baltimore Business Journal)
- The fate of D.C.'s Fort Dupont Ice Arena is in question after the nonprofit that runs the full-sized ice rink accused the District of mismanaging plans for building a new facility. (DCist/WAMU)
- King Street Oyster Bar and Tatte Bakery have signed on for City Ridge, the redevelopment of the former Fannie Mae headquarters in Northwest D.C. (WTOP)
- Virginia's elite colleges are receiving a record number of applications from high school seniors, while other state universities are struggling to find students. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
- Virginia ABC stores, which have had their hours trimmed during the Omicron wave of the pandemic, will return to normal operating hours starting March 1. (InsideNoVa)
