NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes Funding, Investors & Competitors

Illumina is a genomics company headquartered in San Diego, California, that develops and sells DNA sequencing and array-based systems for research, clinical and applied markets. It was incorporated in April 1998 by David Walt, Larry Bock, John Stuelpnagel, Anthony Czarnik and Mark Chee, and its shares trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol ILMN. Its NovaSeq, NextSeq and MiSeq sequencers and microarrays are bought by genomic research centers, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions and clinical laboratories. Revenue comes from instrument sales and from the consumables and services used with an installed base of about 21,000 systems in 165 countries. Fiscal 2025 revenue was $4.34 billion, flat on 2024, with GAAP net income of $850 million, and the company has about 8,600 employees. It acquired the cancer-detection company GRAIL in 2021 and completed its spin-off in June 2024, keeping a 14.5% minority stake. In January 2025 it invested $20 million in Truveta alongside Regeneron to support the Truveta Genome Project.

Demant is a Denmark-based manufacturer and distributor of hearing solutions, such as hearing aid devices and diagnostic equipment. More than 80% of the company's sales come from North America and Europe.

BillionToOne Inc is a precision diagnostics company revolutionizing molecular testing with its patented Quantitative Counting Templates (QCT) platform. This technology enables ultrasensitive, single-molecule DNA quantification, making genetic testing more accurate, affordable, and accessible. The company serves prenatal screening and oncology markets with non-invasive tests that detect fetal genetic risks and monitor cancer therapy response.

Wilson Wolf Corporation is a medical device manufacturer headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, producing gas-permeable cell culture flasks and bioreactors for mammalian cell expansion in applications like monoclonal antibody production, stem cell therapy, and tissue engineering. Established in 1998, the company supplies platforms used by researchers at Mayo Clinic and universities for immunotherapy and diabetes research.

Johnson & Johnson is the world's largest and most diverse healthcare firm. It has two divisions: innovative medicine and medtech. These now represent all of the company's sales following the divestment of the consumer business, Kenvue, in 2023. After restructurings in 2023-24, the drug division focuses on three main therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, and neurology. Geographically, just over half of total revenue is generated in the United States.

Roche is a Swiss biopharmaceutical and diagnostic company. The firm's bestselling pharmaceutical products include a variety of oncology therapies from acquired partner Genentech, and its diagnostics group was bolstered by the acquisition of Ventana in 2008. Oncology products account for 50% of pharmaceutical sales, and centralized and point-of-care diagnostics for more than half of diagnostic-related sales.

Thermo Fisher Scientific sells scientific instruments and laboratory equipment, diagnostics consumables, and life science reagents. The firm operates through four segments as of year-end 2025 (revenue figures include some cross-segment revenue): analytical technologies (17% of sales); specialty diagnostic products (11%); life science solutions (23%); and lab products and services, which includes CRO services (the remainder).

In 1984, Danaher's founders transformed a real estate organization into an industrial-focused manufacturing company. Then, through a series of mergers, acquisitions, and divestitures, Danaher now focuses primarily on manufacturing scientific instruments and consumables in the life sciences and diagnostic industries after the late 2023 divestiture of its environmental and applied solutions group, Veralto.

Merck KGaA operates in three main segments: life science, electronics, and healthcare. The life science segment provides laboratory consumables and instruments to researchers in academia and applied fields, including the biopharmaceutical industry. The electronics segment offers specialty materials to manufacture a variety of products, such as semiconductors and flat-screen televisions. In the healthcare segment, Merck develops, manufactures, and sells branded pharmaceuticals with significant therapeutic concentrations in oncology, multiple sclerosis, and fertility. In 1995, the E. Merck family publicly sold part of the company, resulting in the current 30% public ownership of the firm.

Idexx Laboratories primarily develops, manufactures, and distributes diagnostic products, equipment, and services for pets and livestock. Its key product lines include single-use canine and feline test kits that veterinarians can employ in the office, benchtop chemistry and hematology analyzers for test-panel analysis on-site, reference lab services, and tests to detect and manage disease in livestock. The firm also offers vet practice management software and consulting services to animal hospitals. Idexx derives roughly 35% of its revenue from outside the United States.

Originally spun out of Hewlett-Packard in 1999, Agilent has evolved into a leading life science and diagnostic firm. Today, Agilent's measurement technologies serve a broad base of customers with its three operating segments: life science and diagnostics, cross lab operations consisting of consumables and services, and applied end markets. Over half of its sales are generated from the biopharmaceutical, chemical, and advanced materials end markets, which we view as the stickiest end markets, but it also supports clinical lab, environmental, forensics, food, academic, and government-related organizations. The company is geographically diverse, with operations in the US and China representing the largest country concentrations.

Water sells liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and thermal analysis tools. These analytical instruments provide essential information on various products, such as their molecular structures and physical properties, to help clients enhance the health and well-being of end users. As a percentage of sales in 2024, Waters generated 58% from biopharmaceutical customers, 31% from industrial clients, and 11% from academic/government institutions. In early 2026, Waters plans to merge with BD's life science and diagnostics business, which will substantially change those concentrations. Waters will wind up with more concentration in diagnostics (versus none now) and discovery-related life science tools.

GE HealthCare Technologies is a leading medical technology firm with leading market share in imaging and ultrasound equipment. The company reports four major segments: imaging (45% of revenue), advanced visualization solutions (26%), patient care solutions (15%), and pharmaceutical diagnostics (14%). The company’s sales are geographically diverse, with the United States, EMEA, China, and the rest of the world accounting for 46%, 26%, 11%, and 17% respectively. We estimate approximately half of its revenue is recurring, which consists of servicing (about one third of revenue), pharmaceutical diagnostics (about 10%-15%), and digital solutions (just over 5%).

Alcon is one of the leading visioncare companies in the world. Following nine years as a Novartis subsidiary, it was spun off as a public company in April 2019. Alcon operates in two segments: visioncare and surgical. Visioncare comprises contact lenses, lenscare solutions, and a suite of ocular health products. With brands like Dailies, Total1, and Air Optix, Alcon controls about one fourth of the US contact lens market. Surgical comprises intraocular lenses, ophthalmic surgical equipment, and consumables used during surgeries. Its main products include Centurion, a phacoemulsification device used during cataract surgeries, and a portfolio of IOLs including PanOptix and Vivity. Alcon has one of the largest installed bases of eye surgical equipment in the world.

Mettler-Toledo supplies weighing and precision instruments to customers in the life sciences (around 55% of sales), industrial (around 40%), and food retail (around 5%) industries. Its products include laboratory and retail scales, pipettes, pH meters, thermal analysis equipment, titrators, metal detectors, and X-ray analyzers. Mettler leads the market for weighing instrumentation and controls more than 50% of the market for lab balances. The business is geographically diversified, with the Americas accounting for about 37% of sales, Europe about 27%, China about 16% and the rest of the world about 20%.

Biosplice Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology firm headquartered in San Diego, California. The company develops small-molecule modulators of splicing factors to treat degenerative diseases, fibrosis, and cancers, with lead candidates in phase II trials for osteoarthritis and dry age-related macular degeneration.

Neuralink is a neurotechnology company founded in 2016 by Elon Musk and a group of scientists and engineers, focused on developing implantable brain–computer interface (BCI) devices. Its primary product, the N1 chip, is surgically implanted into the skull by a precision robotic system called R1, enabling direct communication between the human brain and external computers or devices. The company's stated mission is to address neurological conditions such as paralysis, blindness, and severe motor impairments, allowing patients to control digital devices using thought alone. In January 2024, Neuralink implanted its first BCI device in a human patient, with the individual subsequently demonstrating the ability to control a computer cursor through neural signals. Headquartered in Fremont, California, the company operates at the intersection of neuroscience, robotics, and semiconductor engineering, and has attracted significant attention for its long-term ambitions around human-AI symbiosis.

Meril Life Sciences is an Indian medical-device maker headquartered in Vapi, Gujarat, founded in 2006 by the Bilakhia Group and held through the healthcare holding company Micro Life Sciences Private Limited. Its products span cardiovascular and structural heart devices, including the Myval transcatheter aortic valve launched in December 2018, orthopaedic implants, endo-surgery, in-vitro diagnostics and surgical robotics such as the MISSO system. Meril sells in about 150 countries through more than 35 subsidiaries and employed over 13,000 people in July 2025. It earns revenue from product sales to hospitals and distributors. ICRA reported consolidated revenues of Rs 4,902.9 crore and CARE Ratings PBILDT of Rs 1,293 crore for the year to March 2025. Warburg Pincus invested about US$210 million in 2022, alongside Anchorage Capital Partners and Volrado Venture Partners, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority agreed in July 2025 to invest US$200 million for about 3 percent at an enterprise value of US$6.6 billion.