Fannin Innovation Studio

Fannin Innovation Studio is an early-stage life science development group focused on commercializing innovation developed in the Texas Medical Center institutions. Fannin provides its startups with central office space, seed capital, and a vast network of resources. To address the root cause of Houston’s commercialization gap, the company works directly with the city’s top-tier, higher education institutions to recruit aspiring entrepreneurs to join its apprenticeship program which provides on-the-job training to collaboratively lead its portfolio companies from innovation to commercialization.

Dev Chatterjee

Principal

Michael Heffernan

Principal

Melissa Singh

Principal

B. Atul Varadhachary

Managing Partner

Mark Worscheh

CFO

2 past transactions

Allterum Therapeutics

Seed Round in 2020
Allterum Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company that develops treatments for relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia and other IL-7R expressing cancers. The company is also exploring relapsed/refractory solid tumors with IL-7R over-expression. The 4A10 antibody was developed at the National Cancer Institutes (NCI) and licensed exclusively to Fannin Innovation Studio.

Procyrion

Series D in 2019
Procyrion, Inc. is a clinical-stage medical device company based in Houston, Texas, focused on developing circulatory assist devices for heart failure patients. The company's flagship product, Aortix, is a non-surgical catheter-deployed heart pump designed to support patients who cannot rely solely on medication. Aortix addresses the cardiorenal syndrome cycle by being implanted through a catheter in the leg, allowing cardiologists to position it between the heart and kidneys. This innovative device, which is thinner than a pencil, helps to relieve the workload on the heart while ensuring proper blood flow to vital organs. Founded in 2005, Procyrion aims to improve treatment access for heart failure patients, particularly those who are among the most severely affected, as only a small fraction currently receive appropriate interventions.