Paradigm Diagnostics Announces the Addition of Industry Executive Mara Aspinall to the Board of Directors as Part of the Series B Extension Closing Totaling $15 Million

PHOENIX, May 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Paradigm Diagnostics, a leading precision medicine company focused on comprehensive cancer testing, announced the addition of Mara Aspinall, Managing Director of BlueStone Venture Partners, to the Board of Directors as part of the closing of Paradigm's $15 million Series B fundraising.    

In addition to participation by the founding investors, Mesa Verde Venture Partners, New Science Ventures, and Prairie Ventures, Paradigm is pleased to welcome the addition of Gore Range Ventures, the Tech Coast Angels' San Diego (TCA-SD), OSF HealthCare Ventures, and BlueStone Venture Partners bringing the final Series B raise to $15 million to help support the rapid commercialization of the flagship product, the Paradigm Cancer Diagnostic (PCDx).

Mara Aspinall, Managing Director of BlueStone Venture Partners, joined the board as part of the closing.  "The oncology market is looking for innovative and effective solutions such as Paradigm.  The demand for fast, accurate and comprehensive answers by oncologists, especially in the community setting, is just one factor driving the company's exceptional growth," said Mara Aspinall.

Formerly the president and CEO of Ventana Medical Systems, now Roche Tissue Diagnostics, Aspinall brings more than 20 years of industry experience in biomedical diagnostics, personalized medicine, and digital health. Aspinall also currently holds various board of director roles, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, OraSure Technologies, Allscripts, and others.

"Paradigm's focus on helping the patient and oncologist find the best solutions, especially in our network, dovetails nicely with our mission to help accelerate innovative companies that enhance the quality of care in our network," said Stan Lynall, vice president of OSF Ventures.

"Based on the strength of the product, management team and business model, not to mention the impact on patient care, in January we invested from our new Tech Coast Angels San Diego Venture Fund in addition to participation by numerous luminary TCA-SD life sciences members," said Prasad Sunkara, PhD, Chairman Life Sciences Committee, TCA-SD.

John Friedman, a Managing Director of Gore Range Capital and 39-year veteran of the venture capital industry (Warburg, Pincus, Security Pacific Bank, and Easton Capital) and lead and co-lead investor in Conor MedSystems, Blue Bird Bio, Acorda, and CardioVascular Systems, Inc., among others, has also joined as a Board Observer.  He added "that the company's flagship product represents a paradigm-shifting advance in the war on cancer though its ability to apply a comprehensive personalized medicine approach in a clinically significant rapid timeframe for a patient. We are thrilled to back the impressive management team that leads the company."

Paradigm Diagnostics – is an innovative precision medicine company that leverages technology, bioinformatics and proprietary sequencing to perform the Paradigm Cancer Diagnostic (PCDx) that comprehensively identifies the best evidence-based treatments that may improve a cancer patient's progression-free survival.  Paradigm is disruptive in that it delivers results substantially quicker (3-5 business days) and is able to provide comprehensive next-generation sequencing (NGS) results including mutational load off of a single slide.  In an independent prospective study, using PCDx to help guide treatment decisions has been clinically proven to significantly increase progression-free survival. For more information, please visit www.paradigmdx.com.

BlueStone Venture Partners – is a life sciences venture fund providing capital and strategic support to innovative technology companies. BlueStone partners with inspired entrepreneurs to help them develop their visions of building industry-leading companies. As BlueStone's principals are leaders within the life sciences, they are able to leverage their deep operational expertise and extensive industry networks to help provide valuable guidance for portfolio companies. Based in Arizona and New Mexico, BlueStone has a geographic preference for companies based in the Southwestern United States.  See: www.bluestonevp.com for more information.

Gore Range Capital – is a venture capital firm focused on investing in early and growth-stage healthcare businesses. The firm blends the hands-on approach of operationally focused private equity with the early-stage guidance needed in venture capital. Gore Range offers not just capital, but operational, clinical and scientific expertise that leverages deep industry relationships and a renowned scientific advisory board. Based in New York, Gore Range was founded by finance and healthcare professionals with an unrivaled, specialized focus in four core areas: dermatology, cancer, cardiovascular and technology-driven medical innovation. For more information, please visit www.gorerangecapital.com.

OSF Ventures – specializes in venture optimization, partnering financially and operationally in companies that improve patient outcomes and reduce costs to health care systems. OSF Ventures is a division of OSF HealthCare, headquartered in Peoria, owned and operated by The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis, and consists of nearly 21,000 employees in 126 locations, including 13 hospitals, 11 Centers for Health and 15 OSF PromptCares throughout Illinois and Michigan. OSF Innovation, ranked among the top 10 innovation centers in the country, is located in Jump Trading Simulation & Education Center. Launched in 2016, OSF Innovation is a multidisciplinary innovation center focused on internal and external innovation to solve the largest health care challenges. For more information, please see: www.osfinnovation.org, www.osfventures.org, and www.osfhealthcare.org. 

Tech Coast Angels – is one of the largest and most active angel investor networks in the nation, and a leading source of funding for seed-stage and early-stage companies across all innovation industries in Southern California. A recent Halo Report rated TCA as #2 nationally in a number of funded deals, and a recent analysis by CB Insights ranked TCA #1 out of 370 angel groups on "Network Centrality" and #5 overall in "Investor Mosaic." Since its founding in 1997, TCA has invested over $218 million in more than 380 companies and has helped attract more than $1.66 billion in additional capital/follow-on rounds, mostly from venture capital firms. See: www.tcasandiego.com.

SOURCE Paradigm Diagnostics

Related Links

http://www.paradigmdx.com