NEW ORLEANS — The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) and the New Orleans BioFund, part of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC), have both invested in two bioscience companies expanding operations in New Orleans neighborhoods where impact capital can make an outsized difference.

The investments align with NOBIC’s broader strategy to position New Orleans as a leading destination for high-growth bioscience companies by pairing early-stage capital with lab space, commercialization support and clinical partnerships.

The CDVCA and the New Orleans BioFund co-invested in the seed round of Informuta, an AI-powered infectious disease diagnostics company focused on addressing antibiotic resistance and improving treatment outcomes for patients with healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Informuta is the grand prize winner of the NOBIC 2024 BioChallenge pitch competition.

The two venture funds also co-invested in the pre-seed round of Beken Bio, a biotechnology company developing a blood-based diagnostic test designed to detect early signs of ovarian cancer, one of the deadliest cancers due to late-stage diagnosis. With this investment, Beken Bio is relocating operations from San Diego to New Orleans, the hometown of founder Christopher Millan, Ph.D.

Founded in 2022 by CEO Kalen Hall, Ph.D., and CTO Leo Williams, Informuta’s technology delivers diagnostic results in less than 24 hours and identifies novel links between mutational signatures and drug resistance, enabling clinicians to make faster and more effective treatment decisions. The investment will support Informuta’s continued growth in New Orleans, advancing public health innovation while contributing to the city’s expanding bioscience sector.

With this investment, Beken Bio is expanding its operations to New Orleans, establishing the city as the company’s clinical and commercialization hub. The investment will help finance development of a CLIA-certified laboratory at the New Orleans BioInnovation Center.

“We’re excited to support the expansion of Beken Bio and Informuta in communities that have experienced long-term underinvestment and disproportionate health burdens, and to catalyze the creation of quality jobs for local residents,” said Kerwin Tesdell, president of CDVCA. “We are pleased to co-invest with the New Orleans BioFund to advance shared goals around economic opportunity and innovation-driven growth.”

Khalil said the co-investments reflect a deliberate effort to build a durable bioscience pipeline in New Orleans — one that couples early capital with infrastructure and long-term commercialization support.

“NOBIC and the BioFund are very intentional about supporting our pipeline through funding, commercialization, pilots and job creation. Informuta is a powerful example of that,” said Kris Khalil, executive director of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center and BioFund Managing Director.

Khalil noted that Informuta’s CEO, Dr. Kalen Hall, won NOBIC’s 2024 BioChallenge pitch competition, and said the co-investments reflect a deliberate effort to build a durable bioscience pipeline in New Orleans — one that couples early capital with infrastructure and long-term commercialization support.

“This investment helps her team scale a novel infectious disease diagnostics platform. We’re grateful to CDVCA for partnering with us to deploy capital in New Orleans communities facing persistent health and economic inequities so more residents can access better health outcomes and high-quality bioscience jobs,” said Khalil.

“We’re equally excited that this investment helps bring Beken Bio to New Orleans, bringing founder Dr. Christopher Millan back home to advance early cancer detection,” he said.