Brown and white ventures
LATEST NEWS
NOVEMBER 28, 2025
It's rare when biotech startups commit to Intensely personal campaigns. Yet in the offices and labs of a Gaithersburg, Maryland biotech company, Anthony Sales Ph.D., finds his life’s work to be a race to find a treatment. A race run with his family in mind. Saleh’s company, mirRecule, is developing a revolutionary response for Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD), a progressive and debilitating genetic disorder. Thirty thousand people deal with the condition. Saleh’s journey began not with a rare muscle disorder, but with cancer. Driven by the loss of two grandparents, his graduate work at Johns Hopkins in the early 2000s focused on a novel and highly intriguing class of medicine: RNA therapeutics. While DNA holds the master blueprint for all life, RNA acts as the crucial intermediary—the messenger that carries genetic information from the DNA in the cell nucleus to the protein-making machinery outside. When a person inherits genetic mutations that cause diseases, that same messed her RNA (mRNA) carries an order to the cell to create a toxic, disease-causing protein. “RNA therapeutics were intriguing,” said Saleh, a 2001 graduate of St. Bonaventure University. “They can be designed to target nearly any gene to tackle the underlying causes of diseases.” At the heart of miRecule’s strategy are RNA therapeutics that can be designed to specifically seek out and reduce the toxic DUX4 mRNA messenger, preventing the toxic protein from ever being made. Which would be a crucial advance that would help, among others, more than a dozen people in his own family. Saleh spent a decade at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) helping to develop the foundational technology that would eventually become miRecule’s proprietary platform. RNA therapeutics faced early challenges in safety and effectiveness. But in 2016, with co-founders Robert Place, PhD, and Ashwin Kulkarni, MS, and a crucial initial investment from his own father, Saleh translated that NIH work into the launch of miRecule. The company was initially focused on oncology, with a promising therapeutic for head and neck cancer already in preclinical development. Then, miRecule’s trajectory took an unexpected turn. Around the time miRecule launched, one of Saleh’s uncles was diagnosed with FSHD. Then, in 2017, his father was also diagnosed with it. A disease that had been an academic problem, became a family matter. Saleh would soon after take a genetic test, and learn he, too, had FSHD “I have never experienced such a serendipitous situation,” Saleh said. “Here I was, diagnosed with FSHD along with multiple members of my family, and the best therapeutic strategy to treat FSHD was a technology I had spent my career working on.” Delving into research of the condition, Saleh met with specialists In FSHD who were also exploring RNA therapeutics for the culprit in the condition: the protein DUX4. “As I learned more about FSHD, I realized that an RNA therapeutic that could directly prevent expression of DUX4... could potentially be a more effective treatment than traditional therapeutics currently being explored,” Saleh said. This urgency to help his father, himself, and the next generation ignited miRecule’s new focus. The engine driving miRecule’s discovery is the DREAmiR™ (Discovery, Rational Engineering, and Analytics) platform. It analyzes genomic and clinical outcome data from thousands of patients to uncover the precise genetic mutations causing a disease. This allows miRecule to design a highly tailored RNA molecule to match and correct the underlying disorder. The key challenge for any RNA therapeutic is delivery. RNA molecules are large and must be safely transported into the correct target cells—in this case, deep into the affected muscle tissue. Saleh’s company formed a strategic collaboration with pharmaceutical giant Sanofi in 2022. This partnership combines miRecule’s anti-DUX4 RNA therapeutic, known as MC-DX4, with Sanofi’s proprietary Nanobody® technology. The resulting Antibody-RNA Conjugate (ARC) aims to fuse the potent RNA drug to a muscle-specific antibody (the Nanobody), ensuring targeted and safe delivery directly to the diseased muscle cells. “The different organizations can bring different strengths, but also what we are all doing together is having the patients at the forefront of our minds,” Saleh emphasizes. And for miRecule’s founder, the pursuit of a cure is no longer just a career; it is a profound matter of legacy. Saleh is leveraging decades of scientific expertise, a state-of-the-art discovery platform, and a landmark industry alliance to race against the progressive, debilitating symptoms of a disease that few know today. “This is, obviously, important to me and my family,” Saleh said. “But it is also a breakthrough that can help many more people through a scientific solution that can be applied beyond this one condition.” Brown and White Ventures has committed to investing in miRecule.
RECENT NEWS
Brown and White Ventures announced it will invest in Maryland-based miRecule, a biotechnology company developing RNA therapies for some forms of cancer and muscular dystrophy. In miRecule, the venture capital fund invests in a drug design startup that applies genomic patient data to create highly tailored therapeutics designed to help patients live a life free from the debilitating symptoms of their disorders. miRecule is a biopharmaceutical company developing Antibody RNA therapeutics for rare genetic disorders. “Healthcare and medical startup companies are one of our focal points in Brown and White Ventures investment. With miRecule, we're committing to a company that seeks to make treatment more effective than ever before,” fund co-founder Jim Aroune said. “We are very excited to have Brown and White Ventures be a part of miRecule’s journey,” CEO Anthony Saleh said. “We look forward to working together.” Saleh said it is miRecule’s proprietary platform, DREAmir, which utilizes genomic and outcome data from thousands of patients to identify underlying genetic changes that cause their disease. With that, DREAmir creates a novel RNA therapeutic that can directly target and fix that genetic abnormality. The DREAmir platform is currently being deployed by miRecule to develop first-in-class therapies for neuromuscular diseases. The company began strategically collaborating with Sanofi, the Paris, France-based developer of prescription drugs and vaccines, in 2022. This lead partnership accelerates the discovery and development of a best-in-class antibody RNA conjugate to treat FSHD, Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy. The company announced U.S. Patent No. 12,104,157, titled “Targeted Inhibition Using Engineered Oligonucleotides. The patent broadly covers one of the company’s lead RNA therapeutics and other engineered oligonucleotides. It covers engineered oligonucleotides that are modified forms of miR-30 miRNA with superior binding properties. It also covers vectors, kits, and pharmaceutical compositions comprising these oligonucleotides. The patent is expected to expire in 2041. The newly issued patent strengthens miRecule’s intellectual property portfolio around its core programs and provides broad protection for the company’s technology. “This further strengthens our IP position,” said Saleh. “This patent provides broad coverage for our engineered oligonucleotides, which we believe have the potential to be developed into a new class of targeted therapeutics.” “miRecule will do well by doing good for others through this incredible technology it’s developing,” Aroune said. “This is at the heart of the Franciscan mission Brown and White Ventures seeks to express with every dollar we commit to new companies.” miRecule is also the second Brown and White Ventures investment to be led by an alumnus of St. Bonaventure University. Saleh earned his B.S. with honors in Biochemistry at the university in 2001.
NOVEMBER 24, 2025
The Legal Landscape Transformed: How Event Contract Markets Are Shaping Predictions in Law
In an era where technology continues to revolutionize traditional industries, the legal sector is poised for significant change through the advent of event contract markets. Von Wooding, founder of legal AI startup Counsel Stack, believes these markets are set to influence legal predictions and outcomes, emphasizing the role of legal research in this evolving landscape. As legal professionals increasingly seek to understand trends and patterns in case law, Wooding said the emergence of event contract markets, such as Kalshi and Polymarket, will change the dynamics of legal predictions. "Legal research helps you see where a case is probably heading. When you dig through enough opinions, you start to notice how judges handle recurring issues, which arguments survive contact with precedent, and where the real friction points sit," he said. According to Wooding, while legal outcomes may never be entirely predictable, the right analytical frameworks can significantly enhance the accuracy of predictions. “Patterns show up and trends emerge. Legal outcomes are not perfectly predictable, but with the right heuristics they are not a coin toss either. Attorneys understand this," Wooding said. "This nuanced understanding gives legal practitioners an edge when navigating complex cases and various judicial interpretations. With the advent of platforms that allow betting on the outcomes of major cases, attorneys will have access to novel data that can refine their predictions. "When prediction markets form around major cases, the advantage will go to whoever understands the facts and underlying political pressures," Wooding notes. “Arguably most importantly, deeper patterns in the doctrine play a crucial role in shaping these outcomes.” Wooding speaks as his company prepares for its next step following Counsel Stack's exceptional performance in the VAILS Legal AI Report in Q3 2025. Wooding's platform secured best overall performance, as well as top scores in accuracy, authoritativeness and appropriateness. The integration of event contract markets into the legal sphere signifies a shift toward leveraging data analytics as a mechanism for understanding judicial behavior. "Research becomes a tool for reducing uncertainty," Wooding asserts. "It gives one a clearer sense of the range of outcomes and why one trajectory makes more sense than another." Analysts report this perspective highlights the potential for enhanced decisiveness among legal professionals, empowering them to make informed decisions based on data-driven insights.
NOVEMBER 20, 2025
With its collaborative care platform, allco, already making a difference in four states, wellconnected, the Buffalo, NY-based startup, shared that it is preparing to be cash positive in 2026 and ready to grow into a new, substantial metro. The company will wait to announce the next community in which its allco platform will be introduced. With allco, founder Duane Conners and his team have built a system which "streamlines platforms workflow for community organizations by giving them access to social support resources all in one place." A single source intake record is created through allco. It's managed for the community member and allows cross-agency access and collaboration through a coordinator dashboard. With a community member's data all in one hub that connected to what Conners calls a "robust service directory," allco delivers targeted outreach and closes the loop on referrals." The wellconnected team, in service to Chicago/Cook County, Illinois, portions of Western New York and New Jersey, and the state of West Virgina, reports allco has provided improved comprehensive data "which reveals deeper insights or measuring reporting and grant funding." Conners calls the product of all this onboarding alignment "a holistic approach to social care which ultimately enables CBO’s to provide better support and make a greater impact in their community." A video introducing allco can be found at the Brown and White Ventures YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xb9-voprOSQ Wellconnected invites social care leaders and community leaders to book a demo of the allco platform at: https://www.getwellconnected.co
NOVEMBER 18, 2025
WHY BROWN AND WHITE VENTURES?
Integrity
Behaving honorably, even when no one is watching. We follow moral and ethical principles in all aspects of business and extend strong ethical practices in decision making, interacting with colleagues and serving customers or clients.
Insight
Being able to see or understand something clearly, often sensed using intuition. Understanding the company goals enables us to find solutions to even the most difficult tasks.
Experience
Varied professional experiences makes a difference in venture capital. Our willingness to share that experience and see our companies through adds value to our portfolio.
Investment Focus
Healthcare and Medical Startups
Shaping the future of wellness
Supporting Diversity in Entrepreneurship
Fostering diversity in entrepreneurship
Tech and Energy Startups
Driving progress towards sustainable solutions
WNY, FLX, CNY and Upstate
Generating growth in the University footprint.
Integrity • Insight • Experience
