Aug 16, 2023

Octave Bioscience – a leading precision care company focused on delivering a new standard of care for multiple sclerosis (MS) and other neurodegenerative diseases – recently announced the closing of a $30 million extension to its Series B funding round. The funding round included participation from new strategic investors: Novartis (dRx Capital); Hikma Pharmaceuticals’ venture capital arm, Hikma Ventures; and Intermountain Ventures, and participation by all existing investors, including The Blue Venture Fund, Echo Health Ventures, Section 32, Northpond Ventures, Deerfield Management, Casdin Capital, and Merck Global Health Innovation Fund. This funding round will further accelerate commercialization efforts to bring Octave’s multimodal solution to more multiple sclerosis patients. The company offers a complete precision care solution that combines blood biomarkers, expanded imaging capabilities, and clinical insights for a comprehensive view of the patient, including disease activity levels and disease progression. And these objective insights provide providers, payers, pharma, and patients with the tools needed to measure better, monitor, and more effectively manage these conditions. Commercially launched late last year, Octave is in use in multiple MS Centers of Excellence, academic centers, and high-volume independent clinics nationwide. And the company is actively engaged with expanding physician partnerships and providing its precision care capabilities to address the challenges, issues, and unmet needs throughout the MS ecosystem, including pharmaceutical companies and health plans. The company is also committed to building collaborations and partnerships over time in a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The strategic investor mix from across the ecosystem demonstrates the value and support in the Octave solution and its ability to improve the patient care paradigm in neurodegenerative diseases. KEY QUOTES: “The strength and breadth of our investment partners illustrate the impact our solution has across the entire healthcare ecosystem – physicians, payers, pharma, and most importantly, patients. With our multimodal precision care solution, we are providing tools, insights, and a platform that enable a personalized approach to patient care, better treatment decisions and improved outcomes. We have made significant progress in deploying our solution for multiple sclerosis patients. We appreciate our forward-thinking investors that recognize and value our strategy and approach, and support this important mission.” — William Hagstrom, Octave’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer “We are impressed with Octave’s comprehensive solution and its ability to help address the immense unmet need for patients with neurodegenerative diseases. By offering an end-to-end solution which optimizes and personalizes care, Octave is revolutionizing the way MS is treated and managed. Octave has made tremendous progress in MS, and we’re thrilled to support their important mission.” — Lana Ghanem, Managing Director of Hikma Ventures “Intermountain Ventures is committed to investing in innovative solutions that address unmet clinical needs, and Octave does exactly that for multiple sclerosis patients. MS varies significantly from person to person, but existing diagnostic and treatment methods fall woefully short of capturing the nuances that ultimately have a massive impact on patients’ quality of life and outcomes. Octave’s precision care is a beacon of hope for the 1 million people in this country living with this disease.” — Nickolas Mark, Managing Director and Partner at Intermountain Ventures Trending on Pulse 2.0