Our Team
Fund Management –
Bart Dzikowski is the Head of Legal for NVF in Basel, Switzerland. During his time with Novartis, he has served as the Head of Corporate Legal M&A (a.i.) and as Senior Business Development & Licensing/M&A Counsel. Before joining Novartis in 2009, Bart was Vice President with the Investment Banking Division of Bank of America/Merrill Lynch in New York and, before that, he was an associate with the Corporate/M&A Group at the law firm of Allen & Overy LLP in New York. Bart holds degrees in common law (LL.B.) and civil law (B.C.L.) from McGill Law School in Canada and is a member of the New York State Bar. Bart is an observer on the board of Enterprise Therapeutics.
Portfolio companies
Enterprise Therapeutics (Observer)
Dr. Markus Goebel is a Managing Director in Cambridge, MA, USA. Prior to joining NVF, he worked as Head Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporate M&A and Head Nervous System Business Development & Licensing. A physician by training and certified, amongst others, in hematology/oncology, Markus worked for Farmitalia Germany and later held several positions in R&D, Marketing and Strategy at Roche headquarters before joining Novartis. Markus received an MD and a PhD from the Ludwig Maximilian’s University in Munich and an MBA from Henley. Markus serves on the board of eFFECTOR, E-scape and Macrolide
Portfolio companies
Macrolide (Board Seat) eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (Board Seat) E-Scape Bio (Board Seat)
Exits
Acorda Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACOR) EraGen Biosciences, Inc. (Acquired by Luminex Corporation) FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Acquired by Pfizer) Intellikine, Inc. (Acquired by Takeda) LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Acquired by Takeda) Ra Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RARX) Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Acquired by GlaxoSmithKline) Xenoport, Inc. (NASDAQ: XNPT)
Florent Gros is a Managing Director in Basel, Switzerland. Prior to joining NVF, he worked in various global leadership positions in intellectual property and transaction matters at Nestlé, Pasteur Merieux Connaught (Sanofi Pasteur) and Novartis, in Europe and North America. Florent is a Kaufmann Fellow (2012) and holds a Biotechnology Engineering Masters Degree from France, and did his diploma thesis on vaccines at GSK in Belgium. He also holds European and French patent lawyer degrees and a Masters in Private Law. Florent serves on the boards of Adicet, Anokion SA, Atlas Genetics, Inflazome, Kanyos, Vivet, and Oculis.
Portfolio companies
Adicet Bio, Inc. (Board Seat) Anokion SA (Board Seat) Atlas Genetics, Ltd (Board Seat) Inflazome (Board Seat) Kanyos Bio, Inc. (Board Seat) Oculis (Board Seat) Vivet Therapeutics (Board Seat)
Exits
Evolva AG (SIX Swiss Exchange: EVE) Neovacs SA (Alternext Paris: ALNEV) Okairos AG (Acquired by GlaxoSmithKline) Cellerix BV (Merger with Tigenix BV, NYSE Euronext: TIG) Gensight (EURONEXT: SIGHT) Merus Biopharmaceuticals BV (NASDAQ:MRUS)
Dr. Anja König is the Global Head of the NVF in Basel, Switzerland. Previously, she was a Managing Director at NVF investing in Switzerland, U.K. and the rest of Europe as well as Asia/Pacific. Prior to joining NVF, she was an Associate Partner at McKinsey and Company in New York, where she worked with healthcare companies in the US, Europe and Emerging Markets. Anja holds a PhD in physics from Cornell University. She serves on the boards of Bicycle Therapeutics, F2G, Forendo Pharm, Cutiss and Anaveon. Anja is active in the Swiss startup ecosystem and is a member of the board of the University of Zurich Life Sciences Fund, the evaluation panel of the Bridge Grant POC program of the Swiss National Science Foundation and the CTI, the selection committee of BaseLaunch and serves as a coach with the ETH Pioneer Labs program.
Portfolio companies
Bicycle Therapeutics, Ltd. (Board Seat) F2G, Ltd. (Board Seat) Forendo Pharma, Ltd. (Board Seat) Cutiss (Board Seat) Anaveon (Board Seat)
Exits
Covagen AG (Acquired by J&J) Heptares Therapeutics, Ltd (Acquired by Sosei) Nabriva Therapeutics AG (NASDAQ: NBRV) Qurient Therapeutics (KOSDAQ: 115180)
Dr. Campbell Murray is a Managing Director in Cambridge, MA, USA. Prior to joining NVF, he worked at the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research as the Director of Special Projects. Campbell is a New Zealand-trained physician and worked as a Medical House Officer at Auckland Hospital. He is a Kauffman Fellow and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and an MPP (public policy) from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he was a Knox Fellow and Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar. Campbell serves on the boards of Annexon, Galera, and Lemonaid Health. Campbell serves on the boards of Annexon, Expansion Therapeutics, Galera, and Lemonaid Health.
Portfolio companies
Annexon, Inc. (Board Seat) Expansion Therapeutics (Board Seat) Galera Therapeutics, Inc. (Board Seat) Lemonaid Health, Inc. (Board Seat)
Exits
Aerpio Therapeutics, Inc. Akebia Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKBA) Alios BioPharma, Inc. (Acquired by J&J) Tokai Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: TKAI) Neurovance, Inc. (Acquired by Otsuka)
Dr. David Morris is a Venture Partner in San Francisco, CA, USA. Prior to joining NVF, he held multiple leadership roles in the Novartis Pharmaceuticals development organization including the Development Franchise Head of Respiratory, Development Franchise Head of Primary Care and, most recently, Global Head of Clinical Operations, Analytics and Regions where he was responsible for clinical trials operations and monitoring, statistics, data management, medical writing, submissions management and digital innovation. Prior to joining Novartis in 2009, David worked in drug discovery and translational medicine at Roche in Palo Alto, California. Before joining industry, he was a faculty member at Yale University Medical School and, prior to that, the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical School. David received his Bachelors and Medical Degrees with distinction from the University of Rochester Medical School and trained in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at UCSF. He did his postdoctoral research training at the Lung Biology Center and Cardiovascular Research Institute at UCSF. Dave serves as a director on the boards of Autonomic Technologies, Enterprise Therapeutics, and NeuroVia and is an observer of eFFECTOR and Inflazome.
Portfolio companies
Autonomic Technologies, Inc. (Board Seat) eFFECTOR (Observer) Inflazome (Observer) NeuroVia, Inc. (Board Seat) Enterprise Therapeutics (Board Seat)
Dr. Florian Muellershausen is a Principal in Basel, Switzerland. Prior to joining Novartis Venture Fund, he worked as a Scientific Manager for the R&D Committee of the Novartis Board of Directors and, before that held various scientific and drug discovery roles at the Novartis Institute of Biomedical Research (NIBR) including as Laboratory Head in target discovery and in early clinical research as Translational Medicine Expert, Autoimmunity. Florian received his MSc degree in Biochemistry from Free University Berlin and his PhD degree with great distinction in Biochemistry from Ruhr University Bochum and completed his post-doctoral training at NIBR in Switzerland. Florian is an observer of Forendo.
Portfolio companies
Forendo ( Observer)
Dr. Aaron Nelson is a Principal in Cambridge, MA, USA. Prior to joining NVF, he was an investor at dRx Capital, the joint investment company of Novartis and Qualcomm, focused on Digital Medicine. dRx catalyzes the success of digital medicine products, services, and business models by investing in early-stage companies and leveraging networks in Pharma, Mobile/IT, and the investment community. Previously, Aaron worked on technology strategy across multiple Business Units within Novartis, including Strategic Project Leader for the Trials of The Future program and Group Head in the Investigative Toxicology organization. Aaron studied medicine at Tufts University, cell and microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania and the Karolinska Institutet, and completed his undergraduate studies at Cornell University. Aaron serves as a director on the board of Rox Medical and is an observer on the boards of Cavion and Lemonaid Health.
Portfolio companies
Cavion (Observer) Lemonaid Health (Observer) ROX (Board Seat)
Michal Silverberg is a Managing Director in Cambridge, MA, USA. Prior to joining NVF, she was a Senior Director for External Innovation at Takeda Ventures and, before that, worked at Novo Nordisk in roles of increasing responsibility including as Senior Director Business Development and New Product Commercialization, serving as a member of the BioPharm leadership team. Since 1998, Michal has held positions in various sectors of the life science industry including in the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel (The Incubator program), venture capital (Ofer Brothers Hi Tech) and global pharmaceutical and biotech companies, including various positions at MGVS, an Israeli biotech company and at OSI Pharmaceuticals in a business development role. She received her B.A. in Economics and Business Management from Haifa University, her M.B.A from Tel-Aviv University in Israel and her Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Columbia University in New York. Michal serves as a director on the boards of Cavion, Forma Therapeutics, Galera Therapeutics, Inc. and Viamet Therapeutics and is an observer on the board of NeuroVia.
Portfolio companies
Cavion (Board Seat) FORMA (Board Seat) Galera Therapeutics (Board Seat) NeuroVia (Observer) Viamet (Board Seat)
Juliette Audet is a Senior Associate in Cambridge, MA, USA. Prior to joining NVF, she worked at Novartis Pharmaceuticals as a Senior Manager of Global Pharma Strategy in Basel, Switzerland, and, before that, she was a consultant with McKinsey & Company in New York and Geneva, Switzerland. Juliette holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Master’s degree in Physics (majoring in plasma physics and neuroscience) from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Juliette is an observer on the board of Annexon.
Portfolio companies
Annexon (Observer)
Board of Directors–
Prof. Patrick Aebischer is President emeritus of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and a member of its Brain Mind Institute. Patrick Aebischer trained as an MD (1980) and a Neuroscientist (1983) at the Universities of Geneva and Fribourg in Switzerland. Prior to joining EPFL, he held Faculty positions at Brown University and the University of Lausanne. He has received numerous honors, including the Robert Bing Prize of the Swiss Academy of Medicine and the Pfizer Foundation Prize for Clinical Neurosciences. He serves as a Senate Member of the "Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen” (DZNE). He is a member of the scientific committee of the Italian Institute of Technology and a member of the Singapore Biomedical Sciences International Advisory Council. Prof. Aebischer is a member of the Board of Lonza, Nestlé and Logitech and a founder of three biotech companies. He is a senior partner of NanoDimension-III.
Professor School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL); former Director of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer Research (ISREC); Director of the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) in Molecular Oncology.
Prof. Paul Herrling is Vice-President of the Board of the Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology (ETH Rat) and Professor for Drug Discovery Science at the Philosophisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät at the University of Basel, Switzerland. Prof. Herrling also holds a number of memberships in various boards including the Board of the Novartis Institute for Functional Genomics, the Board of Trustees Foundation for NIH and the Board of Trustees at the University of Basel. He also serves as member of the Scientific Advisory Committee – Drugs for Neglected Diseases (DNDi), of the Advisory Board of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Basel and of the Scientific Advisory Boards of H3D, Medidata and of the Human Brain Project of the European Union. Prof. Paul Herrling was global Head of Research of Novartis Pharma AG and a member of the Novartis Pharma Executive Board.
Harry Kirsch is the Chief Financial Officer of Novartis and a member of the Executive Committee of Novartis. Prior to his current position, he served as CFO of the company’s Pharmaceuticals Division. Under his leadership, the division’s core operating income margin increased, in constant currencies, every quarter of 2011 and 2012 despite patent expirations. Harry joined Novartis in 2003 from Procter & Gamble in the United States, where he was a CFO of P&G’s global pharmaceutical business and held various finance positions at divisional, regional, country and manufacturing site level, as well as in P&G Global Business Services organization. Harry also represents Novartis on the board of the GSK Consumer Healthcare joint venture. Harry holds a degree in industrial engineering and economics from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany.
Nobel Prize Winner for Chemistry, Collège de France, Paris, Université Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France.
Director of Research, Institut Curie, Paris, France.
Dr. Christoph A. Meier is the Chief Medical Officer at the University Hospital Basel and Professor at the Medical Faculty of the University of Geneva. Prior to his current role, he was the Chief of the Department of Internal Medicine & Specialties and a member of the Board of Directors at Triemli Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, as well as Chief of Endocrinology and Head of the Laboratory of Molecular Endocrinology at the University Hospital Geneva. Dr. Meier received his Medical Degree from the University of Basel in Switzerland and holds his Swiss Board Certification (FMH) in Internal Medicine and Endocrinology & Diabetology. Dr. Meier completed his medical residency at the University Hospital of Geneva and was a a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institutes of Health in the Molecular, Cellular Nutritional Endocrinology Branch in Bethesda, MD (USA). He was also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Physician Fellow at the Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital, as well as a Clinical Fellow in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Raj Parekh is General Partner at Advent Life Sciences in London, UK. He joined Advent in 2005 bringing over 20 years of experience in biomedical research and as an entrepreneur and investor. After gaining an M.A. and D.Phil. degrees from Oxford University, Dr. Parekh pursued a successful academic career in molecular medicine before co-founding Oxford GlycoSciences (IPO on LSE and NASDAQ). Following its sale to UCB-Celltech, he became Chairman of Galapagos and a founding Director of Celldex Therapeutics. He has been involved with portfolio companies primarily engaged in the discovery of new medicines, including Avila, EUSA and Thiakis. Dr. Parekh currently serves on the board of several portfolio companies including Arrakis, Aura Biosciences and Levicept.
Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Member, Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.
Dr. Beat Steffen is a Principal in Basel, Switzerland. Prior to joining Novartis Venture Fund, he worked at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in commercial roles in the US and in Switzerland launching several products mainly in the cardiovascular area. Beat joined Novartis from Wellington Partners Venture Capital where he worked with biotech and medical device startup companies. Prior to that, he was at McKinsey & Company in Zurich working with clients in the pharmaceutical industry. Beat is a Swiss-trained physician having focused in cardiovascular surgery and intensive care. He graduated from the University of Zurich Medical School and qualified as a Medical Doctor in Basel. Beat holds an MBA with distinction from INSEAD. Beat serves on the boards of Aelin Therapeutics, and the University of Zurich Life Sciences Fund.
Portfolio companies
Aelin Therapeutics (Board Seat)
Scientific Advisors–
Our Portfolio
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http://www.enterprisetherapeutics.com/
Enterprise Therapeutics is a drug discovery company dedicated to the research and development of novel therapies for the treatment of respiratory diseases.
Expansion Therapeutics is a drug discovery and development company pursuing the vast potential of small molecule medicines for RNA-mediated diseases.
Oculis is a clinical –stage, privately held, pharmaceutical development company focusing on opthalmic drugs and novel drug delivery to the eye.
Aelin Therapeutics is pioneering a novel modality in drug development, branded Pept-ins™, to harness the power of protein aggregation to specifically induce functional knockdown of a target protein in order to create a completely new class of antibiotics and first-in-class therapeutics against high-value undruggable human targets.
Lemonaid Health is leading a second wave of telehealth where technology algorithms power quality care. Lemonaid leverages evidence-based guidelines and the most up-to-date clinical protocols to offer a service direct to consumer for less than typical co-pays. Lemonaid is focused on creating a revolutionized patient experience and improving and optimizing clinical care through the advancements in machine learning and AI.
http://www.vivet-therapeutics.com/
Vivet Therapeutics SAS is addressing current gene therapy limitations and focusing on the discovery and clinical development of gene therapy for liver inherited metabolic diseases as well as for protein replacement therapy. A treatment of the Wilson’s disease has entered GMP manufacturing and IND enabling studies. Additional programs are being developed, including for treatment of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis and Citrulinemia.
http://www.allocyte-pharmaceuticals.com/
AlloCyte develops selective, non-agonistic small molecule integrin inhibitors (integrin "silencers") to treat severe immune-mediated diseases. AlloCyte's lead indication is non-infectious posterior uveitis, a sight-threatening orphan disease.
http://www.advancedanimaldiagnostics.com
Advanced Animal Diagnostics is an animal health diagnostics company, developing highly accurate, rapid on-farm diagnostics. The QScout® line of on-farm diagnostics will detect disease states at an early stage and optimize management of the reproductive, nutritional and overall health status of production animals, beginning with the dairy cow. The company’s platform diagnostic technology is designed to enhance the profitability of livestock production, improve animal welfare, and ensure a safe, abundant supply of animal protein.
Adicet Bio, Inc. is using it’s novel immune cell therapy platform in combination with its wholly owned subsidiary, Applied Immune Technologies, Ltd.’s T-Cell Receptor-Like (TCRL) antibody platform that are targeted to intracellular-derived peptides to develop novel immunotherapies for inflammatory, autoimmune and infectious diseases as well as cancer.
http://www.amp-therapeutics.com/
AMP was founded in 2009 as a spin-out from Prof. Ralf Hoffmann’s laboratory at the University of Leipzig. AMP is developing the next generation of broad-spectrum Gram-negative antibiotics for the treatment of drug-resistant infections. It has been estimated that approximately 30-40% of all hospital-acquired (nosocomial) infections worldwide are caused by Gram-negative bacteria. Gram-negative pathogens are highly genetically flexible and thus develop resistance mechanisms that render most of the current therapies ineffective.
Anokion is developing targeted therapeutics by retraining white blood cells to induce therapeutic antigen-specific immune tolerance. Their technology uses the body’s natural immune regulation by engineering proteins to be perceived as "self" entities to treat autoimmune and allergic diseases and to reduce the immunogenicity of therapeutic proteins.
Atlas is developing the io® platform, a highly novel molecular diagnostic system for the ultra-rapid diagnosis of a broad range of infectious diseases using either nucleic acid or immunoassays. The system is fast, ultra-sensitive and designed for use in decentralized laboratories, point-of-care and other near-patient settings, providing a laboratory accurate test result in about 30 minutes.
Autonomic Technologies is developing a miniaturized implantable neurostimulation device to provide rapid relief from the debilitating pain and suffering caused by severe headaches such as cluster headaches and migraines.
http://www.bicycletherapeutics.com
Bicycle has a platform technology to create biotherapeutics combining features of small molecules and biopharmaceuticals. Bicycle Therapeutics is a spin-out from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology based on the work of the founding scientists Sir Gregory Winter and Prof. Christian Heinis.
http://www.bionanogenomics.com/
BioNano has developed the Irys genome mapping platform using nanochannel technology to visualize whole genomes of any organism, including humans. By capturing extremely long DNA molecules at high resolution (hundreds of kilobases vs. single nucleotides), Irys delivers genome maps that provide novel insight into structural variations, such as translocations, amplifications and deletions, that underlies phenotypic variation. The Irys platform can reveal relevant mutations in complex genomes filling the gap between the available cytogenetics and next-generation sequencing/microarray technologies to further advance genome research.
Cavion is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company committed to providing patients with therapies for neurologic diseases and cancer through the development of drugs that selectively inhibit the T-type calcium channel (Cav3).
eFFECTOR is pioneering a new class of small molecule drugs that act by selectively regulating translation (protein synthesis). The company unites novel insights into the mechanisms of translational control with a proven approach to product invention. eFFECTOR is pursuing selective translation regulators to restore homeostasis to the translation landscape, thereby reversing the consequences of disregulation and offering treatment for a variety of serious conditions.
E-scape is developing therapeutics against genetic targets for neurodegenerative disease including Alzheimer’s Disease and Lewy Body Disease. E-scape’s small molecule approach binds to mutated protein targets and alters protein structure to mimic wild type functionality.
F2G is a UK biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel drugs to treat life threatening fungal diseases. F2G is advancing its F3 series of anti-mold compounds. This is a novel class of anti-fungal agent, which acts through a completely new mechanism different from all currently marketed drugs. The F3 series displays highly potent activity against clinically relevant aspergilli and many other important pathogenic molds.
Forendo is a drug discovery and development company with core competence in tissue specific regulation of sex hormone effects. Its two first-in-class product candidates are in preclinical development with the potential to offer significant therapeutic benefits in men’s and women’s health.
http://www.formatherapeutics.com
Forma targets essential cancer pathways to create small molecule cancer therapies. Forma leverages the integration of its innovative drug discovery technologies and oncology expertise, enabling efficient screening, discovery and rational development of drug candidates with qualified cellular mechanisms of action. Forma is building a robust pipeline of cancer therapies in areas such as tumor metabolism, proteinprotein interactions and epigenetics.
Galera is a clinical stage drug development company with a portfolio of small molecule superoxide dismutase activators. Superoxide, a product of normal cellular oxygen metabolism and certain environmental stresses, is harmful to DNA, RNA, proteins and lipids. This highly reactive molecule is managed by superoxide dismutases (SODs), but the SOD enzyme is deficient in certain disease states. Galera’s technology replaces this loss of function. The company is initially focusing on radiation-induced mucositis, cancer and pulmonary fibrosis.
Genedata provides computational solutions for drug discovery and systems biology research with a combination of software products and professional services that have been developed in partnership with major pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
http://www.gensight-biologics.com
GenSight Biologics is focused on the development of gene therapies in ophthalmic diseases to prevent retinal degeneration in selected pathological conditions and to restore vision in patients suffering from very low vision or blindness.
ImaginAb has a proprietary antibody fragment platform that yields molecular information to guide treatment decisions in cancer and immunology by in vivo imaging. ImaginAb also collaborates with biopharmaceutical partners to design imaging agents as companion diagnostics for therapeutic antibodies.
Inflazome is developing first in class, orally available drugs to address clinical unmet needs by targeting activation of the inflammasome. The company has proprietary new chemical entities that inhibit inflammasome-driven release of pro-inflammatory cytokines that exacerbate inflammation. In addition, they block innate immune cell pyroptosis (uncontrolled cell death), a process that leads to chronic inflammation.
Innocrin is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing novel, “best-in-class” oral, CYP17 lyase inhibitors for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) and potentially other hormonally-driven conditions such as breast cancer, endometriosis, or congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
http://intersectionmedical.com
Intersection is developing a device to help monitor and manage patients in acute decompensated heart failure. A large and growing cost driver for healthcare systems, acute decompensated heart failure and related hospital re-admissions is a growing area of focus globally. Intersection looks to improve patient outcomes, inform the treatment paradigm, and reduce costs for healthcare systems.
Kanyos and was founded with the goal of developing antigen-specific immune tolerance technology for two specific autoimmune indications, type-1 diabetes and celiac disease. The technology originates from EPFL and consists of transporting antigens onto the surface of erythrocytes, enabling specific antigen T cell depletion.
http://www.merganserbiotech.com
Merganser Biotech is developing new medicines that increase hepcidin activity for the treatment of rare hematological and iron overload diseases. Hepcidin is the master regulator of iron metabolism and controls iron absorption from the diet and iron transfer around the body. Hepcidin deficiency causes iron overload, leading to heart and liver damage and may contribute to the severity of ineffective erythropoiesis and anemia in beta thalassemia. Merganser's hepcidin mimetic peptides prevent iron accumulation and reduce the severity of ineffective erythropoiesis in preclinical models of beta thalassemia.
Macrolide is an anti-infective company founded to advance new technology developed by Professor Andrew Myers at Harvard University. Current macrolide antibiotics, such as erythromycin and azithromycin, are less effective due to increase bacterial resistance. Macrolide’s technology enables the total synthesis of virtually any macrolide providing novel next generation macrolide antibiotics.
Merus leverages its proprietary antibody platform to generate full-length bi-specific IgG antibodies (Biclonics®) for oncology. The technology platform leverages fixed VL chains to produce functional monoclonal and bi-specific antibodies in a single cell. Merus has also developed an innovative transgenic mice platform (MeMo®) and state-of-the-art phage display libraries of human Fab fragments to generate panels of common light chain antibodies.
MyoPowers is developing a class III medical implant for the treatment of severe urinary incontinence in males and females, one of the largest under developed therapeutic areas today. MyoPowers aims to enter into CE-enabling clinical studies in the near-term.
Neurovance is a biopharmaceutical company developing treatments for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Neurovance’s clinical stage EB-1020 for adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a norepinephrine and dopaminepreferring triple reuptake inhibitor that is expected to be effective for adult ADHD without the addiction potential of other ADHD drugs.
NeuroVia is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing therapeutics for orphan disease with significant unmet medical need.
Opsona is a drug development company focused on novel therapeutic and preventative approaches to inflammatory and related diseases. Opsona has a pipeline of therapeutics in advanced preclinical development that modulates the innate immune system, including biologics and small molecules that target TLR-2 and Nalp-3. Opsona has started Phase 2b clinical studies with the TLR-2 monoclonal antibody to prevent delayed graft function in kidney transplant.
Ra uses proprietary combinatorial assembly and in vitro display technologies to discover macrocyclic compounds with enhanced bioavailability targeting a wide range of intracellular, cell-surface, and circulating proteins. Ra’s initial focus is on orally available replacements for a variety of marketed biologics, as well as drugs targeting intracellular protein-protein interactions.
Trellis is leveraging its proprietary CellSpotTM technology to deliver higher quality therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. The company has programs in infectious disease.
Altimmune is a clinical stage immunotherapeutic biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel products that engage, stimulate and improve immune responses for the prevention and treatment of disease. By leveraging the complementary attributes of its two innovative vaccine delivery platforms, RespirVec™ and Densigen™, Altimmune is able to rationally design and rapidly develop immunotherapeutic products tailored to address the a wide range of disease indications including acute respiratory infections, chronic viral infections and cancer with fundamental advantages over competing products.
Viamet is a clinical stage biotechnology company that discovers and develops “best-in-class” small molecule inhibitors of validated metalloenzymes via an innovative metal binding approach, its proprietary Metallophile® Technology. The company develops traditional small molecule compounds that exploit validated metalloenzyme targets in the field of infectious disease.
Rox Medical is developing an innovative interventional vascular therapy for uncontrolled hypertension. This therapy is intended to reduce peripheral vascular resistance and add a compliant venous element to the arterial system through creation of a therapeutic arteriovenous anastomosis with the ROX Coupler.
Annexon is developing disease modifying therapeutics to protect neuronal connections (synapses) that are lost in nearly all forms of neurodegenerative disease. Annexon’s platform is focused on inhibiting C1q as the initiating molecule of the complement cascade responsible for aberrantly binding to functional synapses and triggering their elimination in neurodegenerative diseases. This pathway is also well known to contribute to pathology in a number of autoimmune diseases of the nervous system. Annexon’s lead molecule, ANX005, effectively blocks this pathway and will have broad therapeutic application in both acute and chronic neurological diseases. Annexon’s initial focus will be in acute peripheral immune-mediated disorders.