Revel Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biotechnology company creating therapeutics to reverse and repair damage that results from aging, today announced recent additions to its Board of Directors and Scientific Advisory Board.

Joining as a member of the Board of Directors is Jennifer Cochran, Ph.D. “We are thrilled to attract stellar leadership that matches the level of promise of Revel’s mission of attacking diseases of aging,” said Aaron Cravens, Revel co-founder and CEO. “Augmenting our Board leadership with Dr. Cochran’s insights and experience will ensure that Revel Pharmaceuticals has the guidance to maximize the therapeutic promise of our technology.”

Dr. Cochran joins the Revel Pharmaceuticals Board of Directors with over 25 years of experience in the discovery and development of therapeutics. Dr. Cochran has co-founded several biotechnology companies including xCella Biosciences which develops antibody therapeutics, and is a Venture Partner at Lagunita Biosciences. Since 2008, she has served as a Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University, and is presently Shriram Chair of Bioengineering at Stanford University. She also serves as the Director of the Stanford/NIH Biotechnology predoctoral training program. Her expertise spans protein-based drug discovery and development for applications in regenerative medicine, oncology and ophthalmology, and development of new technologies for high-throughput protein analysis and engineering. Dr. Cochran obtained her Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Biological Engineering. She has received numerous accolades for her work including the National Cancer Institute Howard Temin Award, and an American Cancer Society Research Scholar Award. Dr. Cochran has published over 75 papers in peer-reviewed journals and is named as an inventor on over 35 patent applications. “I am delighted to join Revel’s Board and work with the team to build a transformative new class of therapeutics around AGE-breaking enzymes” stated Jennifer Cochran.

Joining as a member of the Scientific Advisory Board is Vincent Monnier, Ph.D. “Revel will benefit massively from Dr. Monnier’s decades of expertise and study of the molecular mechanisms of aging” said Patrick Burgermeister, Board Member and Partner at Kizoo.

Dr. Monnier joins Revel’s Scientific Advisory Board with over 45 years of experience working in clinical pathology and study of the Maillard reaction, Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) and how they relate to aging and complications of diabetes. Dr. Monnier is a Professor of Pathology at Case Western Reserve University with a research focus on elucidation of the molecular mechanisms by which the aging process leads to impairment of protein function. Dr. Monnier discovered that the AGE glucosepane is the single most significant cross-link in senescent human tissues. “AGE-breaking enzymes are a novel and promising therapeutic and I am thrilled to join the team at Revel Pharmaceuticals, the leader in developing an enzyme-based therapy targeting glucosepane and other AGEs, which drive diverse diseases of aging” said Dr. Monnier.

Underdog Pharmaceuticals, Kizoo Technology Capital and SENS Research Foundation today announced the launch of Underdog and the completion of its seed round, providing $3.95 million to promote Underdog’s development of disease-modifying treatments for atherosclerosis and other age-related diseases. SRF also announced two senior appointments.

​The Underdog round is led by Michael Greve’s Kizoo Technology Capital, part of the Forever Healthy Group and one of the premier organizations focusing on accelerating rejuvenation biotechnologies. It also includes Oculus co-founder Michael Antonov through Tubus, LLC, and financier Harald McPike through Chambray Worldwide, Ltd.

New York.   At the end of March 2019, the US economy had 7.4 million unfilled jobs, but only 6.2 million people were looking for work. This marks the 13th straight month that the number of job openings was higher than the number of job seekers, requiring businesses to compete harder than ever to keep and attract workers.  Now, one of the startups that helps employers improve and measure the employee experience of their workforce is announcing a round of funding to help fuel its own rapid growth. Staffbase, the mobile first employee communication and experience platform that creates a single place to go for employees to access information and work-related services, has raised $23 million in new funding.

The investment is led by Insight Partners, the backer of successful businesses including Twitter and Shopify. Existing investors e.ventures, Capnamic Ventures, and Kizoo Technology Capital also participated in the new funding round. Staffbase has now raised a total of $35 million since it was founded in 2014 and was recently listed by Gartner as one of the leaders for employee communication applications. 

Mambu, the leading SaaS banking engine announced it has raised €30 million in its latest funding round led by US-based Bessemer Venture Partners, one of the world's most experienced and successful SaaS-focused venture capital firms, with participation also coming from existing investors Acton Capital, CommerzVentures, Point Nine Capital and Runa Capital.

Mambu, which launched in 2011, has experienced triple-digit growth for four consecutive years as an increasing number of challenger and established banks sign on to implement the platform. The funding will accelerate Mambu’s momentum by stepping up investment in both the commercial teams as well as the product, platform and services, resulting in a planned three-fold growth in headcount and six-fold in revenues in the forthcoming years across all regions.