SAN FRANCISCO– Rune Labs, a precision neurology software and data company, today announced a strategic round of $12 million, increasing the total amount raised by the company to over $42 million. The round was led by new brain disorder fund, Nexus NeuroTech Ventures, with participation from existing investors, including Eclipse, DigiTx Partners, Moment Ventures and TruVenturo GmbH. Jordi Parramon, PhD, CEO, General Partner and Co-Founder of Nexus NeuroTech Ventures and former President of Medical Devices at Verily, will join Rune Labs’ board of directors.
“Since launching in 2021, Rune Labs’ StrivePD software has become the most widely used software by Parkinson’s patients and clinicians, and we have built complementary business lines that leverage our network and data to support both clinical development and comprehensive care management,” said Rune Labs CEO Brian Pepin. “With over 25 years of experience, Jordi brings deep knowledge in building businesses and products and the intersection of data and healthcare. This strategic partnership with Nexus NeuroTech Ventures is in line with our use of modern AI tools to support patients, clinicians, and our pharma partners, and speaks to our ambition to have a deep impact in the way Parkinson’s is understood and treated.”
In 2022, Rune Labs’ StrivePD software ecosystem for Parkinson’s disease was granted 510(k) clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to collect patient symptom data, including tremors and dyskinesia, through measurements made by Apple Watch. Over the past year, Rune Labs announced several partnerships with leading innovators in neuroscience, including collaborations with cell therapy developers BlueRock Therapeutics and Aspen Neuroscience to evaluate symptom activity in each company’s Parkinson’s clinical trials using Rune Lab’s StriveStudy clinical development platform.
“The future of precision medicine for brain diseases will start with innovative technologies that provide personalized, longitudinal insights into each patient’s unique condition,” said Dr. Parramon. “Focused on investing in technologies that can transform how we treat brain disorders, our aim at Nexus NeuroTech Ventures is to support innovative companies like Rune Labs. My Co-Founder William Marks, MD — an expert Parkinson’s neurologist — and I are thrilled to work with Brian and the entire Rune Labs team as they move forward into a new age of personalized care for Parkinson’s disease.”
Rune Labs’ unique approach to precision medicine for Parkinson’s centers around providing patients with actionable data, which in turn drives engagement with StrivePD. With direct access to patients with high-quality structured data, Rune Labs has been well-positioned to quickly adopt generative AI tools to provide personalized insights for patients at scale.
“As a person with Parkinson’s disease, I’ve seen the medical community promise new therapies to cure my disease for over a decade. Yet, there is still nothing that can slow the progression of these debilitating diseases, which is why we need novel technology to advance our agenda and take us one step closer to finding a cure. For me, StrivePD has given far more accurate readouts of my symptoms to my doctors, enabling a more precise management plan. I strongly believe that Rune Labs and their tool, StrivePD, are set to transform how we receive care and improve outcomes for many people living with Parkinson’s,” said Benjamin Stecher, Chair of the Patient Advisory Board at Rune Labs.
