Each month, Start-Up presents a comprehensive review of young, private life science companies that have recieved venture funding during the month, including companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and research instrumentation & reagent sectors.

A preview of the emerging health care companies profiled in the current issue of Start-Up. This month's profile group, New Devices for Varicose Veins, features profiles of Vascular Insights, VeinRx and Venousonics. Plus these Start-Up Across Health Care: NanoMed Pharmaceuticals, Peakadilly, Quincy Bioscience and Solidus Biosciences.

Two-year-old Peakadilly NV has developed a proprietary system for detecting protein biomarkers in serum--a powerful tool that it believes could help usher in the era when molecular biomarkers are widespread and easily recognizable commodities.