Vytala, a US-based food technology company dedicated to advancing nutrition, today announced its official launch and the initial close of its pre-seed financing. For the past year, Vytala has been in stealth, recruiting a highly experienced executive team, refining its initial product formulation, putting in place key partnerships and preparing for commercialization. Its mission is now clear: Vytala will help people with GI diagnoses achieve their best health through the power of nutrition.
Malabsorption affects 1 in 5 people with digestive diseases and vulnerable populations, impacting people across all stages of life. The inability to absorb sufficient nutrients can cause permanent developmental issues in children, chronic malnutrition in adults, increasing both direct and indirect costs of care. Malnutrition impacts ~25-54% of hospitalized older adult patients in the US, costing US hospitals $51B per year. Vytala’s solution is clinically proven to enhance fat and nutrient absorption, supporting optimal weight gain, growth, and overall health.
Vytala has applied breakthrough science to create a specialized lipid in a crystalized form that can be readily absorbed without the need for digestion. This unique plant-based technology delivers the essential fatty acids, and improves absorption of additional nutrients from food it is consumed with.
Dr. David Yesair, an accomplished Biochemist with more than 120 publications, spent years inventing, developing and refining the cutting-edge technology. His inspiration stemmed from observing malabsorption issues a family friend faced. Andreina, an extremely ill young woman, lacked sufficient digestive enzymes. Her fierce determination to live life while trying to achieve a ‘normal’ weight led Dr. Yesair to invent a way to facilitate the absorption of long chain fat, independent of digestive enzymes and bile acids. He formed BioMolecular Products Inc. to lead this research and pursue clinical studies. Vytala is continuing Dr. Yesair’s work and has licensed worldwide exclusive rights to this technology from BioMolecular Products Inc.
“Vytala was founded on fundamental beliefs that all children should reach their full growth potential, and all patients should achieve their best long-term outcomes,” stated Jim O’Connell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vytala. “We are committed to bringing this technology to market and helping clinicians improve health outcomes for patients and their families.”
The financing is being led by Robin Hood Ventures, with participation from Ulu Ventures, JumpStart NJ, Delaware Crossing Investor Group and The MBA Fund. Concurrent with the initial close, Robin Hood Ventures nominated Mike Russomano, former President & CEO of Wyeth Nutrition, a unit of Nestle S.A., to join the Board, and Steve Reale, Partner with Ulu Ventures, joined as Observer.
“An unmet medical need exists to address fat malabsorption across a broad range of conditions,” stated Mike Russomano with Robin Hood Ventures. “Patients deserve treatment for this need. Significant value creation will occur with the first effective, reimbursed, and widely accepted product.”
“Vytala has an unprecedented opportunity to set a new standard in food as medicine. We have been impressed with the company’s commitment to address an important market need and encouraged by the early feedback shared by patients taking the product,” added Steve Reale, Partner with Ulu Ventures.
Vytala has assembled a talented founding team that brings deep product development, clinical and commercial expertise in nutrition science in the US and global markets. Vytala’s founding leadership team includes Jim O’Connell as CEO and Founder; Megan Fisklements, PhD as Chief Food Science Officer; Chris Pemantell as SVP Commercial Ops; Tracy Ruvolo, MS, MBA, RD as VP Marketing; Karen Payne Schwartz, MS, RDN as VP Sales; and Phil Lehman as CFO.
To learn more about Vytala and find out which industry events they will be attending in 2024, please visit VytalaHealth.com or contact partnerships@VytalaHealth.com.
About Vytala
Vytala is advancing nutrition, with a mission to help people achieve their best health through the power of nutrition. Our founding team is committed to addressing the widespread problem of malabsorption, and brings over 100 years of experience in clinical nutrition, food science, healthcare and in reimbursement. Vytala’s unique crystalized lipid technology has been proven in multiple clinical studies, and CMS has issued a new reimbursement code for the product. Vytala is developing a suite of precision nutrient products to address a broad spectrum of diseases in humans and in animals. The company will not rest until it has eliminated nutrient deficiencies.
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