VILAS Ventures Invests in $13.5M Series A3 Round for CND Life Sciences to Advance Neurodegenerative Diagnostics

May 14, 2025 at 09:00 AM EDT

VILAS Ventures, a healthcare-focused investment firm, announced its participation in the $13.5M Series A3 equity financing for CND Life Sciences, a pioneering diagnostics company developing innovative tools for the detection of neurodegenerative diseases.

The funding will accelerate CND’s commercial growth and R&D initiatives, expanding access to its flagship product, the Syn-One Test®—the first commercially available skin-based diagnostic that visualizes and quantifies abnormal alpha-synuclein, a key marker of synucleinopathies such as Parkinson’s disease. To date, CND has processed over 35,000 tests, with adoption by nearly 3,000 neurologists across the U.S. A 2024 JAMA study reported the test's 95.5% sensitivity across several synuclein-related disorders.

Led by CEO Rick Morello, who joined in 2020 and brought over 25 years of healthcare leadership, CND has evolved from early-stage to national commercial scale. His prior roles include Global President at Aptus Health (a former Merck subsidiary) and CEO of Plasma Surgical.

“Neurodegenerative diseases remain among the most urgent unmet needs in medicine,” said Daniel Livschutz, Managing Partner at VILAS Ventures. “CND’s Syn-One Test combines cutting-edge pathology and AI to provide objective diagnostic clarity for clinicians and biopharma companies alike. We’re thrilled to support their mission at such a critical inflection point.”

Livschutz added, “This investment is also personal. A family member endured years of misdiagnosis before receiving a Parkinson’s diagnosis. Earlier access to objective testing like Syn-One could have significantly improved their journey.”

This marks the fourth healthcare investment by VILAS Ventures in the last 12 months, alongside Cortechs.ai, Roshal Health, and JSCM Group. The firm specializes in late-stage growth equity and debt financing for founder-led healthcare companies, with a focus on technology-backed solutions in diagnostics, SaaS, and tech-enabled services.

About VILAS Ventures

VILAS Ventures is a healthcare investment firm targeting high-growth, founder-led businesses. Founded by Daniel Livschutz, the firm brings deep operational expertise and a hands-on approach to scaling healthcare technology companies. Its upcoming VILAS Growth Fund I targets $125M–$150M for strategic investments across healthcare IT, AI diagnostics, and tech-enabled services.

About CND Life Sciences

CND operates a CLIA-certified, CAP-accredited lab in Scottsdale, AZ, and developed the Syn-One Test® to support diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and related synucleinopathies. More at cndlifesciences.com.