New York, NY (PRWEB)
December 19, 2019

Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have discovered a way to move precision immunotherapy forward by using genomics to inform immunotherapy for multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, in December.

This is the first study to experimentally determine which byproducts from the mutation of tumors (known as neoantigens) have the ability to provoke the immune system into recognizing and killing cancer cells in multiple myeloma patients. The results provide the foundation for using neoantigen-targeting strategies such as cancer vaccines in future trials for multiple myeloma patients. Multiple myeloma is a malignancy of plasma cells affecting 30,000 people a year.

Next-generation sequencing data was analyzed to describe the landscape of neoantigens in 184 patients, and researchers identified neoantigen-specific immune cells triggered by immunotherapy. Additionally, they showed an increase in neoantigens in patients who had relapsed myeloma versus new patients, which may indicate potential for greater immune responses to immunotherapy in these patients. The study also identifies common neoantigens between patients, which could lead to new vaccine therapies.

“Tumor neoantigens represent excellent targets for immunotherapy, due to their specific expression in cancer tissue,” said Samir Parekh, MD, Associate Professor of Oncological Sciences and Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) at the Icahn School of Medicine. “Until now, there has been no direct evidence that DNA mutations induce neoantigen-specific T-cell responses following immunotherapy in multiple myeloma.”

Stemming from this research, co-author Nina Bhardwaj, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine (Hematology and Medical Oncology) at the Icahn School of Medicine, and colleagues are pursuing a clinical trial investigating the safety and responsiveness of a personalized neoantigen vaccine for the treatment of cancers including multiple myeloma.

This study was supported by the NIH (R21 CA223953) and the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City’s largest integrated delivery system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai’s vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 7,480 primary and specialty care physicians; 11 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 410 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Medical Schools”, aligned with a U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” Hospital, No. 12 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding, and among the top 10 most innovative research institutions as ranked by the journal Nature in its Nature Innovation Index. This reflects a special level of excellence in education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation’s top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Orthopedics in the 2019-2020 “Best Hospitals” issue. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital also is ranked nationally in five out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West are ranked 23rd nationally for Nephrology and 25th for Diabetes/Endocrinology, and Mount Sinai South Nassau is ranked 35th nationally for Urology. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, Mount Sinai West, and Mount Sinai South Nassau are ranked regionally.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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NEW YORK (PRWEB)
December 19, 2019

One of the biggest barriers to care for transgender individuals is a lack of knowledgeable providers. In a move that reflects a growing recognition of transgender care needs within established medicine in the United States, The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published a new review on the topic authored by experts from the Mount Sinai Health System.

The new review, titled “Care of Transgender Persons,” appears in the December 19 issue of NEJM. It aims to serve as a fundamental resource to help the medical community separate what is known from what is not in transgender health care.

In the United States, studies estimate that approximately 150,000 youths and 1.4 million adults identify as transgender. As sociocultural acceptance patterns evolve, clinicians will likely care for an increasing number of transgender people.

“The intention of the review is to provide straightforward guidance to address the gap that transgender individuals may face in their care,” said the lead author of the review, Joshua Safer, MD, Executive Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery, and Professor of Medicine (Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Bone Disease) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

The feature begins with a case vignette that highlights a common clinical problem. Evidence supporting various strategies is then presented, followed by a review of formal guidelines, when they exist. Dr. Safer and his colleague, Vin Tangpricha, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, then provide clinical recommendations.

Recommendations from the review include:

• Determining readiness for treatment for those who seek it by establishing that the patient has persistent gender incongruence and is competent to make medical decisions.
• Prescribing and managing hormone therapy based on expected impact and awareness of the potential adverse effects of the treatment.
• Screening by the clinician or mental health consultant for mental health conditions that may confound the assessment of gender identity or complicate management of care.
• Understanding the various surgical options for transgender individuals with consideration of the challenges associated with each.

“The most influential vehicle to effect long-lasting, meaningful change across current and future generations of clinicians in all specialties caring for transgender individuals is education,” added Dr. Safer.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City’s largest integrated delivery system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai’s vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The Health System includes approximately 7,480 primary and specialty care physicians; 11 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 410 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Medical Schools”, aligned with a U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” Hospital, No. 12 in the nation for National Institutes of Health funding, and among the top 10 most innovative research institutions as ranked by the journal Nature in its Nature Innovation Index. This reflects a special level of excellence in education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation’s top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Gynecology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Orthopedics in the 2019-2020 “Best Hospitals” issue. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital also is ranked nationally in five out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West are ranked 23rd nationally for Nephrology and 25th for Diabetes/Endocrinology, and Mount Sinai South Nassau is ranked 35th nationally for Urology. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s, Mount Sinai West, and Mount Sinai South Nassau are ranked regionally.

For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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GREENWICH, Conn. and WALTHAM, Mass. (PRWEB)
December 19, 2019

Great Point Partners (“GPP”), a Greenwich-based private investment firm focused exclusively on the health care industry, has exited its investment in Corrona to Audax Private Equity after accelerating the Company’s growth. Corrona provides clinical real-world evidence to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies by establishing and operating patient registries in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Noah Rhodes, III, Managing Director at GPP commented, “We are very proud of what we accomplished with CEO Raymond Hill and the entire Corrona team. In 2014 we were looking for an investment in the clinical real-world evidence sector and were immediately impressed with the business that founder Dr. Joel Kremer had built. Corrona expanded to six registries during our ownership and grew into related areas of UK electronic medical records and claims data and patient experience studies. We look forward to watching the Company continue to flourish under Ray’s leadership.”

“Great Point was an outstanding partner, providing insight gained from their extensive experience in the pharmaceutical services sector and supporting our search for related businesses to expand Corrona’s offerings with their dedicated sourcing team,” Raymond Hill, Chief Executive Officer at Corrona, stated. “Additionally, through their deep network in the biopharmaceutical industry, Great Point recruited a talented board of directors that provided valuable guidance.” Noted Jeff Greenberg, MD, CMO of Corrona, “GPP helped to enhance our capabilities in many areas, while ensuring we retained a strong focus on patients and our core investigator network.”

“We increased Corrona’s growth trajectory by providing capital to expand the number of registries the Company manages and completing two accretive acquisitions: Health iQ of London, England and HealthiVibe of Arlington, Virginia, which made Corrona a global business. Corrona’s impressive growth is a significant achievement for the management team,” added Jeffrey Jay, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Great Point Partners.

Allen & Company LLC served as exclusive financial advisor to Corrona, and Morrison Cohen LLP served as the Company’s legal counsel.

About Great Point Partners

Great Point Partners (“GPP”), founded in 2003 and based in Greenwich, CT, is a leading health care investment firm, currently with approximately $1.9 billion of equity capital currently under management and 28 professionals, investing in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. GPP is currently making new private equity investments from GPP III. Great Point manages capital in private (GPP I, $156 million and GPP II, $215 million of committed capital, and GPP III which has $306 million in committed capital) and public (BioMedical Value Fund family, approximately $1.4 billion) equity funds. Great Point Partners has provided growth equity, growth recapitalization, and management buyout financing to more than 100 growing health care companies. The private equity funds invest across all sectors of the health care industry with particular emphasis on biopharmaceutical services and supplies, outsourcing and alternate site care, and information technology enabled businesses. The firm pursues a proactive and proprietary approach to sourcing investments and tuck-in acquisitions for its portfolio companies. Reach Great Point at 203-971-3300 or http://www.gppfunds.com.

About Corrona

Corrona provides real world evidence through syndicated registry data and analysis services, helping biopharmaceutical companies demonstrate the value of their products to clinicians, patients, payers, and regulators. Corrona operates six major autoimmune registries across the US, Canada and Japan, collecting data from over 500 participating investigator sites. In addition to supporting hundreds of manuscripts and abstracts, Corrona has supported post approval safety commitments for multiple advanced therapies approved for autoimmune conditions. Corrona is headquartered in Waltham, MA. Through its subsidiary Health iQ, Corrona has access to a broad range of UK and international data sets across primary and secondary care, as well as deep relationships with the NHS, Public Health England, and leading UK academic institutions. The Company’s HealthiVibe business complements and strengthens Corrona’s strong presence in disease registries by providing market-leading expertise in supporting innovative, evidence-based patient engagement initiatives across the product lifecycle. Learn more at http://www.corrona.org, or via email at info@corrona.org.

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SILVER SPRING, Md. (PRWEB)
December 19, 2019

Lifematters, one of the largest home care agencies operating in the mid-Atlantic region in the United States, announced today that they have completed implementation of AlayaCare’s cloud-based technology as part of their efforts to position the company for accelerated growth.

Lifematters employs more than 1,500 caregivers across the mid-Atlantic region in Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., offering a full range of in-home services, from home care, to skilled nursing services, to highly-specialized care for chronic diseases. Implementing AlayaCare software within its operations will allow Lifematters to expand its services, enter new geographic markets and improve operational efficiencies.

“With the industry moving towards value-based purchasing, Lifematters is placing larger emphasis on better outcomes and data collection as the company aggressively expands into new markets,” said Daniel Gold, COO, Lifematters. “Home care is seeing greater participation in Medicare Advantage Plans and Transitional Care programs for healthcare systems and skilled nursing facilities, which are also important programs for Lifematters. We are thrilled to have AlayaCare as a partner to support our expansion as we deliver better outcomes and experiences for both healthcare providers and clients through our virtual call centers and innovative technology initiatives.”

AlayaCare’s unique platform offers a complete technology solution to manage the entire client lifecycle including referrals and intake, scheduling, coordination, client health records, clinical documentation, care worker management, billing and payroll, reporting, remote patient monitoring, and a mobile caregiver app in one integrated, highly robust and secure, cloud-based system.

In addition to improved client lifecycle management, AlayaCare’s cloud-based architecture and open API (Application Programming Interface) enables Lifematters to increase interoperability and seamlessly integrate with their current billing management software, helping them expand their relationships with Medicare Advantage plans, ACOs and other payment models.

“As the industry continues to evolve, we commend partners like Lifematters who are committed to modernizing the healthcare delivery model as it integrates into the continuum of care,” said Gosia Radaczynska, VP, Client Success at AlayaCare. “We are excited to be a part of Lifematters’ growth and innovation strategies and witness first-hand how our technology will help to improve efficiencies and patient outcomes.”

About Lifematters

Founded in 2004, Lifematters is the largest employer-based home care and care management company in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. Lifematters is the first choice in home care for individuals, families, doctors, nurses, social workers, hospitals, and independent- and assisted-living facilities, and has garnered recognition in these areas from local and national award programs. The company works with clients to create customized care plans and employs highly trained, skilled caregivers and care managers. The full range of in-home services includes care management, counseling, nutrition counseling, medication management, social companionship, wound care and care for neurological disorders. Lifematters associates also assist clients with bathing and grooming, personal safety and security services, transportation and errands. http://www.Lifemattersusa.com

About AlayaCare

AlayaCare’s unique platform includes back office, clinical documentation, client and family portals, remote patient monitoring, telehealth, and mobile caregiver functionality in one integrated, highly robust and secure, cloud-based system. AlayaCare is providing the platform for home and community care organizations to propel towards innovation and home care of the future. AlayaCare was founded in 2014. http://www.alayacare.com

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DENVER (PRWEB)
December 19, 2019

While early stage angel investor-backed deals decreased by 2% between 2018 and 2019 according to Pitchbook, Colorado’s ecosystem saw an increase of over 28% during the past year. On a global scale, we’re seeing a “gentrification of capital”, with funds getting bigger, deal sizes growing, valuations rising and company exits taking longer. All of this means that capital has been moving away from early startups – except in Colorado.

Colorado’s vibrant startup community has a lot to do with that. Community leader Rockies Venture Club (RVC) had a record year of furthering economic development throughout Colorado, with more investments in local startups and more out-of-state deal syndication dollars brought into the community than in the past 35 years of its operations.

RVC held a total of 121 events throughout the year with nearly 2,700 people attending. These events included the Angel Capital Summit, the Colorado Capital Conference, two local HyperAccelerator programs and additional HyperAccelerators in Bozeman, MT and Adelaide, Australia. The organization also expanded its Angel Investor program from a one-day Angel Investing 101 program to three full days with Angel Investing 201 and 301. The advanced classes include topics such as leading angel syndication deals, serving on boards, post investment management, portfolio theory, tax strategies and hands-on due diligence process with live companies as well as case studies. According to Peter Adams, RVC Executive Director, “Angel investing education is rare, but for RVC it has become the cornerstone to creating a lively investing community in Colorado resulting in above average portfolio growth for well-educated investors of over 30% in most years.”

RVC has made twenty-four investments along with the Rockies Venture Fund, totaling nearly $5 million in 2019 – with all but three investments going to Colorado companies. RVC has actively syndicated with other venture funds, angel groups and individuals to help companies raise the capital they need with over $69 million additional investment contributed. Over half of RVC’s deals are syndicated in 2019. Investors in RVC deals are seeing year-on-year increases of about 30% on their investments, most of which are structured to be 100% free from federal long-term capital gains taxes.

The Rockies Venture Fund, which co-invests with RVC, also made eleven investments in Colorado companies such as GeoVisual Technologies, Inc., P2BInvestor, CirrusMD, Shotzr, CaliberUX, PolyPort, Sheets & Giggles, Nymbl Science, SmartMedia Technologies, Bitsbox and Realvolve. The Fund has now made thirty-three rounds of investment in twenty-four companies since its founding a little over two and a half years ago.

RVC’s officers are launching their next Colorado focused fund in 2020: the Rockies Impact Fund. The Rockies Impact Fund will be focusing on early-stage investments in companies that have measurable social and environmental impact, while providing returns at market-rate level or better. Investors in the Rockies Impact Fund will have an option to invest in the Fund for high returns, or through the Rockies Impact Donor Advised Fund (DAF) where they can leverage their tax-deductible giving up to 10X by investing their donation in the Rockies Impact Fund, then allocating the returns to their favorite charities.

RVC is also expanding its reach with new angel groups in 2020. “We’re looking forward to a big year in 2020 with a host of new angel investing groups focusing on Cleantech, Life Sciences, Tech, and regional access to capital in Colorado.” says Dave Harris, RVC’s Director of Operations. These efforts, and a goal to grow RVC by 110 new angel investors, is supported by Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) with a grant to help mobilize capital throughout the state of Colorado. Paul Foley, RVC’s Director of Capital Mobilization says, “We expect to be able to invest even more in great Colorado Startups in 2020 and beyond, thanks to these new initiatives.”

One of RVC’s largest investments this year came via Realvolve, a Denver-based real estate technology company. Realvolve helps real estate agents to cultivate client relationships from lead generation to transaction management through to relationship management post-sale. CEO Dave Crumby shared on the process of working with RVC as his lead investor, “My relationship with RVC is a partnership of high value. The culture there has always been defined by an appreciation for people over plans and product. They have a commitment to focus on strategic issues, a drive for practical solutions, and respect for operating expertise.”

RVC led Realvolve’s 2019 fund raise, along with participation from Rockies Venture Fund I, L.P., an early stage venture fund that has a strategic partnership with RVC. The two entities combined to invest over $700,000 in Realvolve.

Healthcare was one of the main industries that RVC investors gravitated towards in 2019. The Angel group made follow-on investments in portfolio companies like PharmaJet, a medical device company that creates needle-free injection devices based in Golden and CurvaFix, a Seattle-based company that develops flexible rodscrews that help repair fractures in curved bones.

RVC investors also backed a number of healthcare companies for the first time, like Nymbl Science, a Denver health-tech company that aims to improve balance in Seniors and prevent 1 million falls, and most recently, Vaporox. Vaporox has developed a patented, and FDA-510K-cleared technology that has shown the ability to dramatically speed up the healing process for 7 different types of skin wounds, including diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) and pressure ulcers (bed sores). Vaporox first presented at RVC’s annual Angel Capital Summit in the spring of 2019, gaining a large following from the local Angel community. “It was great working with RVC on our company’s first outside financing,” said Alan Sage, Vaporox’s CEO. “In my mind, RVC is what an angel investor group should be. RVC’s March 2019 ‘Angel Capital Summit’ conference gave us the opportunity to present our case directly to RVC members. After that, RVC’s knowledgeable and very professional staff worked with us to price and lead our investment round, thus making it easy for other angel investors to follow.”

Lastly, RVC investors helped Buderflys Technologies, Inc. close the first tranche of their round of series Seed funding at a total valuation of $4,250,000 post-money. RVC led the round with a number of other investors participating. From CEO/Founder Shea Gerhardt, “Buderflys mission is to own the ear while fundamentally changing this $20B, high-margin industry for the better, with our proprietary squishy, high-end acoustical line of earbuds/hearables. Buderflys are a high-end wireless earbud system different from anything on the market. They conform to your ear as you move while creating a near perfect seal. This combined with our advanced speaker system, provides an unparalleled pristine sound and talking experience (Buderflys.com). We like to say that it is like a sophisticated little pillow in your ear.” This new round of funding allowed Buderflys to ramp up for their international launch.

About the Rockies Venture Club: Rockies Venture Club is the longest-running and one of the largest Angel Groups in the U.S.A., founded in 1985, whose mission is to advance economic development by actively connecting the most promising entrepreneurial companies with Angel investors, venture capitalists, and other community members. Every year Rockies Venture Club invests in about 25 companies and offers over 140 educational programs, mastermind groups, angel forums, and two major conferences for both investors and entrepreneurs.