For Immediate Release
CDVCA and New Orleans BioFund co-invest to advance bioscience innovation and economic opportunity in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS (March 3, 2026) — 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 two venture funds co-invested in the seed round of Informuta, an infectious disease intelligence company that forecasts drug resistance trajectories to guide antibiotic selection with precision and quantify treatment-emergent resistance risk for the first time. Informuta is the grand prize winner of NOBIC’s 2024 BioChallenge pitch competition.
CDVCA and the New Orleans BioFund 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.
Founded in 2023 by CEO Kalen Hall, Ph.D., and CTO Leo Williams, Ph.D., Informuta uses proprietary AI and novel predictive genomic biomarkers to give clinicians the confidence to choose therapies that won’t fail their most vulnerable patients – transforming antibiotic prescribing from reactive to predictive and empowering smarter, future-proofed decisions.
This investment will support Informuta’s clinical validation studies and expansion of its test menu to cover numerous high priority pathogens, with the goal of implementing the test later this year with major health system partners and assessing its clinical and economic impact.
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.”
“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. “Dr. Kalen Hall won our 2024 BioChallenge, and 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. 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.”
About CDVCA
The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA) is the national network of community development venture capital (CDVC) impact investing funds. CDVCA promotes the creation of quality jobs, productive wealth and entrepreneurial capacity that advance the livelihoods of low-income people and the economies of distressed communities. CDVCA works to strengthen the CDVC industry through advocacy, education, communications and best-practice development, while managing and investing more than $400 million of investments in CDVC funds and businesses that support job creation.
About the New Orleans BioFund
The New Orleans BioFund, part of the New Orleans BioInnovation Center, is an early-stage investment fund focused on supporting bioscience and health innovation companies with strong potential for economic and community impact. The BioFund provides capital and strategic support to companies advancing healthcare solutions while driving job creation and commercialization opportunities in Louisiana.
About the New Orleans BioInnovation Center
The New Orleans BioInnovation Center (NOBIC) is a nonprofit business incubator dedicated to supporting the growth of bioscience and health technology companies in Louisiana. Through mentorship, commercialization support, workforce development and strategic partnerships, NOBIC helps entrepreneurs bring innovations to market and strengthen the region’s bioscience ecosystem.