Top Biotech Startups

1. Top Biotech Startups At a time when the news about lab-grown organs or designer babies are no more an awe factor, we must admit that biotech industry has moved much ahead, creating an opportunity for startups to launch themselves in this competitive and ever-evolving market. With the startups specializing in developing cancer immunotherapy, digital therapeutics, cell and gene therapy, and more, the biotech industry is piquing the interest of the venture capital firms. After 2018, the year that touched a record number of biotech initial public offerings (IPOs), the same trend has been persistent in 2019. Especially, with the research on clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and Alzheimer’s intensifying, the financial support for the startups is likely to grow without any hindrance. However, we should also note that with the government’s rising focus in

2. the biotech industry, drug prices and treatment cost are likely to decrease while allowing more number of companies to specialize in generic drugs. Understanding the changing times, StartupCity has compiled a list of 15 most promising biotech startups to guide hospitals, clinical research organizations, and medical colleges to understand the current trends and maximize the use of the latest technologies. Amid this evolving market scenario, we are glad to feature New Jersey- based Anima Biotech that is pioneering the discovery of small molecule drugs with its Translation Control Therapeutics platform. Anima’s technology generates millions of light pulse images that show when, where, and how much protein is being produced in the cell in real-time. On the other hand, we have also featured Wisconsin-based Capio Biosciences, a biotechnology startup focused on developing biopsy-free and cost-effective diagnostic tests for cancer surveillance, monitoring, and diagnosis. While significant challenges in manufacturing and analytical technologies persist in the cell and gene therapy market space, an Ireland-based BioTech startup Avectas is addressing those by developing unique technology for ex vivo delivery of advanced molecules such as mRNA, proteins, and gene editing payloads for cell engineering applications. We also bring to you the story of San Francisco-based Synthego — a startup on a mission to broaden the access of CRISPR, to accelerate the basic scientific discovery of cures and develop novel synthetic biological applications. In addition to a major focus on cancer, HIV, and the likes, there are a few biotech startups focused on the treatment of chronic kidney disease (CKD). In this edition, we have also featured one such biotech company named inRegen, which is developing advanced cellular therapies for treating CKD. With the biotech industry growing rapidly, especially due to the startups penetrating and the organizations specializing in different sectors of this vast field, we can surely expect the industry to prosper further in the near future. We hope this issue of StartupCity provides you with a bigger picture of the evolving biotech industry so that you can build the partnership you and your organization need for leveraging these advancements to enhance your business.

3. We present to you StartupCity’s “15 Most Promising BioTech Startups 2019”. Top Biotech Startups Top Biotech Startups Anima Biotech Anima Biotech is advancing Translation Control Therapeutics, the first and only platform for the discovery of small molecule drugs that control mRNA translation as a new strategy against hard and undruggable targets in many diseases. Athira Pharma Athira Pharma is a drug development corporation that aims to advance human health through the advancement of new therapies for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. Their unique approach focus on converting brain degeneration into regeneration, which is accomplished by repairing broken connections and restoring damaged function. Formed in 2011, Athira Pharma’s goal is to restore lives to millions by unique, advanced, and bold therapeutics. The scientific approach to repairing missing and building new connections in the brain is groundbreaking. Pre-clinical studies indicate that their lead therapy candidate will slow down, pause, and likely restore lost brain function

4. Avectas The company specializes in the ex vivo delivery of advanced molecules such as mRNA, proteins, and gene editing payloads for cell engineering applications. Avectas delivers tools to a range of cell types, including T cells for immuno-oncology applications. The company enables drug developers to manufacture potent engineered cell therapies at therapeutic volumes, with better efficiency, and minimal cell disruption. Unlike the present industry standard of vector-free delivery methods such as electroporation, cells engineered with Avectas’ novel vector-free cell engineering technology platform — Solupore require less recovery time, leading to a shorter, simpler, more cost-effective manufacturing process Capio Biosciences Backed with over a decade’s worth of R&D in hematology and comprehensive biomimetic circulating tumor cell (CTC) analysis, Capio Biosciences wishes to simplify oncology diagnostics. The company is currently developing their flagship product, CapioCyte™: a platform where blood samples are first centrifuged to isolate the buffey coat (white cells and CTCs). The sample is then passed through its in-house engineered flow chamber system where the sample travels across the surface of Capio Biosciences’ proprietary chips. The surfaces of these chips are engineered to induce biomimetic cell rolling, which enhances the capture efficiency of CTCs. The aim is to detect CTCswith the utmost sensitivity and specificity in a clinically-significant manner. With CapioCyte™, the company seeks to increase the sensitivity and specificity of CTC detection as well as to establish CTCs as a powerful biomarker for patient surveillance and monitoring

5. inRegen The company offers an autologous-homologous therapy known as REACT (Regenerative Advanced Cell Therapy), designed to restore andrebuild the renal function in patients with chronically diseased kidneys. The goal of REACT is to harnesses human body’s intrinsic ability to repair damaged kidney tissues and restore them to native-like organs and tissues. Given its ability to stabilize the deterioration of kidney cells or in some cases improve the kidney function, REACT therapy can outperform and mitigate the need for a kidney transplant or dialysis. Since REACT is autologous cell therapy, it shows no side effects or rejection by the host body QuantumCyte Quantumcyte is an early stage biotech company developing tools and workflows for the single-cell analysis research community. Quantumcyte has developed a unique approach to the isolation and interrogation of individual cancer cells. The main aim of the company is to speed up the time from patient biopsy to actionable data by seventy-five percent. The company deals with biotechnology, medical science and life science. Single cell analysis, RNA extraction, Cell dispensing, Phenotype and transcriptome correlation, Immunophenotyping and immune repertoire, Resolving spatial genealogy, and Biomarker discovery are the solutions provided by the firm

6. RoosterBio Founded in 2013, RoosterBio’s passion is to empower life-saving cures for more patients worldwide. RoosterBio is a Maryland-based biotechnology company focused on the simplification of translating cell therapy and tissue engineering technologies into the clinic and onto the market. The company is specialized in mesenchymal stem/stromal cells, bio printing, adult stem cells, tissue engineering, cell therapy, regenerative medicine, biomedical engineering, bio processing, process development, and democratizing cell technologies. RoosterBio is designing products to help to quicken the pace of research and development to help build a robust and sustainable Regenerative Medicine industry Synthego Headquartered in San Francisco, Synthego, an innovative biotech company is guided by a mission to broaden the access of CRISPR, all for the pivotal purpose of accelerating the basic scientific discovery of cures, and developing novel synthetic biological applications. One of the top biotech companies, Synthego builds advanced bioinformatics and automated hardware platforms to create next-generation molecular biology tools, starting with full-stack genome engineering. The company leverages a perfect combination of next-generation informatics, machine learning (ML), and precise and automated genome engineering procedures to ensure rapid and budget-friendly research with consistent results. As a leading provider of genome engineering, Synthego is committed to unlocking the full potential of genome editing

7. ClearLight Biotechnologies ClearLight Biotechnologies uses CLARITY and TRUE 3D to serve pharmaceutical, biotech, and academic researchers with the next tissue analysis element. The objective of ClearLight Biotechnologies is to revolutionize cancer detection, prognosis and predictive therapy by allowing next-generation technology for the non-destructive treatment and automated 3D tissue analysis. In 2014, Karl Deisseroth MD, PhD, inventor of CLARITY, Optogenetics, and STARmap technologies, created ClearLight Biotechnologies. It is an early phase organization dedicated to developing robotic instrumentation and related reagents to simplify and promote the study of non-destructive 3D tissue to enable applications of preclinical and clinical research Codiak BioSciences Codiak BioSciences is researching a new class of biological drugs, exosome therapy, using exosomes — natural intercellular messengers. They established the engExTM Platform, the patented and scalable System for exosome engineering and manufacturing, to build on the inherent properties of exosomes to design new therapeutic possibilities for exosome. Using the engEx System, users can model exosomes with specific and purposefully chosen parameters to integrate various forms of biologically active molecules, including small molecules, nucleic acids, proteins, antibodies, enzymes, cytokines and complex ligands, with the purpose of providing powerful signals to specific cell targets

8. InfinixBio InfinixBio serves as a research service company partnering with founders, pharmaceutical incubators, biotech companies, and investors. They aim to improve the innovation of the customers from theory to practice, enhance the operation of their product and change their product to fulfil unaddressed or unarticulated industry needs. InfinixBio partners with Entrepreneurs, Biotechnology Companies, Biotech Incubators and Investors to move innovation from theory to practice, enhance the functionality of the existing product and modify it to fulfil unmet or even unarticulated consumer requirements. Their goal is to make the product commercially successful as a collaborative partner Notable Notable Labs is a translationally oriented drug development company that makes a clinically validated, robotic compound tolerance system to recognize and promote innovative therapeutic candidates to reduce the cost and time of the conventional drug development cycle significantly. Established in 2014, Notable is a mission-driven organization that transforms the treatment of cancer. Notable offers an integrated compound tolerance system for discovering and developing new therapeutic candidates to significantly lower the cost and complexity of the conventional phase of drug development

9. Science Exchange The Science Exchange Marketplace improves R&D productivity by automating many collaborative tasks between buyers and providers, such as obtaining quotes, managing projects and processing payments, all with rigorous data security and regulatory compliance embedded throughout. Science Exchange is one of the best R&D Services Management company, empowering research organizations to accelerate science and drive more innovation success. The company offers Marketplace for Science Experiments and R&D Services Management. A privately held company, Science Exchange is serving several industries such as agriscience, animal health, basic research, biopharmaceutical, chemicals, consumer health, food science, and medical devices Siolta Therapeutics Located in the historic Dogpatch area of San Francisco Siolta Therapeutics is an early stage, venture-backed biotech company focused on developing therapeutic microbial consortia to prevent and treat inflammatory diseases. Siolta Therapeutics is on a mission to alleviate the suffering of millions impacted by chronic inflammatory diseases through novel micro biome-based medicines. The firm deals with Microbial Therapeutics, Host Microbe Interactions, and Human Micro biome. Siolta’s live microbial therapeutics is designed from naturally occurring bacteria in order to reestablish a healthy micro biome with the power to prevent and reduce disease

10. Spero Therapeutics A multi-asset, clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Cambridge. Spero also has a platform technology known as its Potentiator Platform that it believes will enable it to develop drugs that will expand the spectrum and potency of existing antibiotics, including formerly inactive antibiotics, against Gram-negative bacteria. Spero’s lead product candidates generated from its Potentiator Platform are two intravenous or IV,-administered agents, SPR741 and SPR206, and designed to treat MDR Gram-negative infections in the hospital setting. Spero is also advancing SPR720, its novel oral therapy product candidate designed for the treatment of pulmonary non-tuberculous mycobacterial disease Social Media : Facebook | Linkedin | Twitter | Youtube