Index Ventures on Oct. 27 pledged up to €10 million ($13.4 million) to Swiss start-up Mind-NRG in the latest example of the venture capitalist's asset-centric financing model.

Start-Up's monthly comprehensive review of emerging life science companies that have received venture funding during the month, including companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and research instrumentation and reagent sectors.

The founders of NormOxys are working to commercialize molecules similar to those that give migratory birds the fortitude to fly thousands of miles. When the compound inositol pentaphosphate binds to the protein hemoglobin, its presence helps release up to three of the four oxygen molecules that hemoglobin picks up in the lungs and carries out to the body. NormOxys is betting that its lead candidate can help elevate oxygen levels in human tissues that lack it, and so become a treatment for a range of disorders, from heart failure to diabetic retinopathy, traumatic blood loss, and even cancer.