2020
Year in Review
In a year of unprecedented hardship we witnessed never-before-seen speeds of innovation and levels of collaboration in the global healthcare community.
As we reflect on the past year, we are proud to share highlights from our team and portfolio who responded, contributed, and innovated throughout it all.
Notable Highlights
Initiated world’s first controlled clinical trial for a CRISPR-enhanced bacteriophage therapy
Granted FDA clearance for atrial fibrillation and heart murmur AI algorithms for use with its digital stethoscopes
Excision's technology inventor, Jennifer Doudna, wins 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Helped more than 165,000 patients get access to on-demand virtual care
Executed one of the year's most successful direct listings on NASDAQ (PLTR: Mkt Cap $54B)
Demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity in multiomics blood test for detecting early-stage colorectal cancer
Reached a major R&D breakthrough with the discovery of a subset of plant-derived proteins that work comparably to collagen, enabling the team to scale production
Reached space with Rocket 3.2, its second launch attempt
11
New Companies Joined Our Portfolio
Including incubation and launch of 3 startups
Stealth Health
COMING SOON
Stealth Health
COMING SOON
Stealth Fintech
COMING SOON
​New Funding Rounds
​17
Second Front: Seed
Replay Therapeutics:
Cvt Note
Outpace Bio:
Series A
Locus Biosciences:
Cvt Note
Lemonaid:
Series B
Astra:
Cvt Note
Modern Meadow:
Series C
Freenome:
Series C
Cohesity:
Series E
Climax Foods:
Seed
Aether:
Cvt Note
Activ Surgical:
Series A'
IDbyDNA:
Series B
TAE Life Sciences:
Series B
THM:
Series C
Eko:
Series C
Versa:
Series D
7
Major Partnerships
Recognition
College of American Pathologists
AV in the News
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Artis COVID-19 Response Timeline
JAN
Early Responder
IDbyDNA is an early responder to adapt its infectious disease diagnostic platform to detect SARS-CoV-2
MAR
#FIGHTTHEPANDEMIC
Innovation Tracker
In response to the pandemic, the ARTIS team starts weekly trackers of healthcare innovation across treatments, vaccines and diagnostics. Over six months, the tracker was featured in publications including Visual Capitalist and Zero Hedge, translated to Spanish in Sociedad Ecuatoriana De Microbiología, and shared on social channels globally.
Public Health + Tech
Palantir partners with leading health institutions (e.g., NHS, CDC, the VA) to help in contact tracing, predicting outbreaks, and monitoring supply needs.
APR
Thought Leaders
Fighting the Pandemic
During the first wave of the pandemic, we heard from our Portfolio CEOs developing novel solutions, our Pioneers working on the front lines in hospitals, regulatory & policy, and renowned investors reflecting on its economic impact.
MAY
Emergency Use Authorization (EUA)
The FDA issues EUA for Eko's ECG-based Low Ejection Fraction screening algorithm, designed to improve detection of heart failure during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gene Editing
Excision is recognized for developing CRISPR-based therapeutics for infectious diseases with the potential to apply its gene editing platform to target COVID-19.
JUN
OCT
Respiratory Panel Launch
IDbyDNA and Illumina co-launch their Respiratory Pathogen ID/AMR Target Enrichment Panel, capable of testing nearly 300 pathogens in a single test, and distinguishing if someone is infected with COVID-19, the flu or another respiratory disease.
Pioneer Day
Nearly 30 of our Pioneers gathered for our Pioneer Day, sharing different ways they were involved in COVID-19, our Portfolio Companies, and other innovative healthcare initiatives.
ARTIS co-sponsored Second Front's Offset Symposium alongside the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum and the Defense Innovation Unit, with this year's theme focused on Biosecurity in light of the pandemic.
Paul Garofolo, CEO of Locus Biosciences, also spoke on Reactive Biosecurity: Counter-measures, Vaccines & Therapeutics.
Biosecurity Symposium
Second Front Systems hosts symposium on Biosecurity.
DEC
PORTFOLIO
Insights
“
CONNOR LANDGRAF
CEO
Telemedicine has been around for the past couple of decades, but it's been limited in its use and reimbursement. With COVID, Medicare / Medicaid is now paying for any virtual care delivered to patients, and we're seeing all the major insurance carriers start to shift and pay for telemedicine. This change in telemedicine and reimbursement is a once in a hundred year change in healthcare.
Eko
“
DANIEL DORNBUSCH
CEO
For decades, therapeutic development efforts have failed to cure viral infectious diseases such as HIV or Hepatitis B. Now with technologies like CRISPR, expanded genetic sequencing databases, advances in software and analytics, increased understanding of gene therapy activity in commercial settings, and demonstrated proof-of-concept of cures in animals, we are positioned to progress therapeutics to potentially cure these devastating diseases.
Excision Bio
“
GALIT MESHULAM-SIMON
R&D LEAD
In our modern society we manufacture almost everything through chemical processes, whether it's the food that we eat or the drugs that we take. Imagine big plants, high temperatures, high pressures. Manufacturing hasn’t had a renaissance. Enzyme engineering is the way to get there and deep learning makes the perfect platform.
Aether
“
CAMERON PYE
CEO
In many ways our understanding of human biology, particularly in the role of certain drivers of cancer, has outstripped our chemistry capabilities. A lot of the high-hanging fruit in drug discovery has been called ‘undruggable,’ and we’re working to change that. AI and drug discovery takes more than computer science and biology. Don’t forget the chemistry.
Unnatural Products
“
PAUL GAROFOLO
CEO
2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic have shone a light on the importance of continued innovation in infectious diseases. We are facing a rising tsunami of antibiotic resistant infections that will hit our healthcare system because of the historical misuse and overuse of antibiotics, particularly during this pandemic. At Locus, our crPhage™ products, CRISPR-Cas3 enhanced bacteriophage, are designed to meet this challenge head-on and much more. We truly believe that this new modality could change the face of medicine.
Locus Biosciences
PIONEER
Reflections
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“
CHARLENE FRIZZERA
FORMER ACTING ADMINISTRATOR AT CMS
We are experiencing historic changes in the delivery of health care due to COVID, many of which will continue into 2021. Long standing beliefs have changed: services can be delivered via telehealth — outside the walls of hospitals and nursing homes, innovation can happen more quickly without risking patient lives, and health disparities matter. Our journey is not over and 2021 will continue to create new opportunities for change.
CMS
“
JEFF KINDLER
FORMER CEO AT PFIZER AND OPERATING PARTNER AT ARTIS
COVID-19 has accelerated trends toward consumer-controlled delivery of care and personalized health information. Consumers will continue to manage more substantial amounts of their health care through personalized technology (at home and on the move) that they control. This will reduce the role and costs from intermediaries and speed up the efficiency of health care delivery.
Pfizer
Genentech
“
QUITA HIGHSMITH
CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER
2020 showed us that the fight for health equity is a movement, not a moment. In 2021, we need to prioritize success in reaching underserved populations in clinical research. We all must step up and speak up to help build a more equitable system.
“
WENDY MAYER
VP COLLEAGUE EXPERIENCE
In 2021 we will see dramatic change in the way we work. We will evolve into a more flexible, fit for purpose work arrangement, where people are more intentional in where and how they connect to get work done. The traditional 9-5 will transition into a blend of in-office collaboration and remote-focused work time. Offices themselves will start to transition into collaboration spaces rather than “office space.”
Pfizer
“
ANGELIKA FRETZEN
EXECUTIVE TEAM
2021 will be a turning point. Supply chain questions have moved to center stage and will open new exciting possibilities for tech development and entrepreneurship. However, to really address healthcare and sustainability concerns, we must apply solutions to central questions regarding societal disparities, healthcare access, and the undeniable need for consistent dissemination of reliable scientific information.
Wyss Institute,
Harvard University
“
THOMAS LÖNNGREN
FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EMA
The ongoing pandemic has had a huge impact on the way we develop new medicines. We have been forced to conduct R&D and clinical trials in a different way. Relying on digital tech and remote communication to run trials & regulatory procedures enabled us to approve a new vaccine in record time. In 2021 many of these new processes will be the "new normal," accelerating drug approvals in a more cost-effective way.
European Medicines Agency
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season and new year from the ARTIS team
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