MADISON, Wis. – Renovar Inc., an early-stage company focused on the development of kidney disease diagnostics, today announced that it has closed a successful round of financing that totals $1.22 million. This financing round, Renovar’s second, brings the total capital raised by the company to $3.2 million. The proceeds will be used to support the company’s efforts to secure FDA clearance of its Renokine I product, and other product research and development activities.
Investors that participated in the recently-closed round include NEW Capital Fund LP, Wisconsin Investment Partners and significant individual investors, including the company’s president and chief executive, Peggy Hedberg, and Brookfield-based asset manager Rhona Vogel. Wisconsin Investment Partners also participated in the company’s first round of financing.
Renovar also announced that Ms. Vogel and Charles Goff will join its board of directors. Mr. Goff is general partner of NEW Capital Fund, an Appleton, Wis.-based venture fund focused on early-stage companies in Wisconsin. Mr. Goff was the founder of Forward Enterprises Inc., a distributor of industrial piping products, which he sold to Ferguson Enterprises Inc. in 1998.
Ms. Vogel, a certified public accountant and licensed investment advisor, is the owner of Vogel Consulting, a wealth management and tax-planning firm she founded in 1993. Prior to starting her business, Ms. Vogel was a partner at Arthur Andersen. She is a member of both the American and Wisconsin Institutes of Certified Public Accountants. Ms. Vogel is a trustee of Marquette University, where she earned her business degree.
“Renovar’s recent $1.2-million financing round is continuing validation of the strong prospects for the company and our pipeline of potential kidney disease diagnostics,” said Peggy Hedberg, president and chief executive of Renovar. “These new funds enable us to aggressively push our marquee product towards FDA clearance, a key milestone in the company’s development.
“We also are pleased to welcome Charlie Goff and Rhona Vogel to the company’s board of directors,” Ms. Hedberg said. “We are grateful for the confidence they have expressed in Renovar’s future and the commitment both of them has made to the company’s success through service on our board.”
“We are very impressed with the strength of Renovar’s management team, their intellectual property position, and the fact that their proof of concept is firmly established,” Mr. Goff said. “We expect Renovar to be one of Wisconsin’s biotechnology stars in the near future.”
“The strength of Renovar’s intellectual property not only supports the existing business model, it has the potential to benefit many kidney disease patients,” Ms. Vogel said. “I am excited to be joining the company’s board of directors and look forward to helping build it into the success we know it can be.”
About NEW Capital Fund
NEW Capital Fund, LP is an Appleton, Wis.-based private equity limited partnership with nearly $10 million of committed capital. The fund focuses on investing in Wisconsin-based early-stage companies that have the potential for rapid growth and can be certified as qualified businesses under Wisconsin’s Act 255.
About Wisconsin Investment Partners
Wisconsin Investment Partners (WIP) was founded in 2000 by Terry Sivesind and Dick Leazer. It is the state’s first angel investor network focused on life science companies. WIP currently has more than 30 members and has been responsible for providing $5 million to Wisconsin-based start-up companies.
About Vogel Consulting
Vogel Consulting is a Brookfield, Wis.-based, privately-owned and independent multi-family office. Vogel Consulting represents 48 families, providing integrated investment planning, tax compliance and planning, estate planning and family office services.
About Renovar
Renovar, founded in 1999 by an internationally-recognized University of Wisconsin-Madison transplant surgeon, is an early-stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of diagnostic tests for kidney disease and transplant monitoring. The company’s portfolio of patented kidney-disease biomarkers coupled with its proprietary urine buffer system, which permits assaying of urine not possible otherwise, enable the potential for non-invasive, timelier detection with greater sensitivity and specificity.
