Current Investments
Aileron Therapeutics Inc.
Joseph A. Yanchik III, Cambridge, MA, US
Aileron Therapeutics is developing the first generation of peptide therapeutics directed at intra-cellular protein-protein interaction targets that are not addressable by current drug modalities. The company’s proprietary cell penetrating “Stapled Peptide” technology is being applied to generate breakthrough therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. “Stapled Peptides” have the potential to become a major new class of drugs for intracellular and extracellular targets across therapeutic areas.
Akebia Therapeutics, Inc.
Joseph Gardner, Cincinnati, OH, US
Akebia Therapeutics is developing novel small molecule therapies to ameliorate patient suffering caused by anemia or vascular disease. Akebia's portfolio includes a broad array of enzyme inhibitors that specifically upregulate hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) and angiogenic mechanisms.
Alios BioPharma, Inc.
Lawrence Blatt, San Francisco, CA, US
Alios is discovering and developing novel therapeutic agents based on three platform technologies including: small molecule activators of innate immunity antiviral pathways (RNase L activation), phosphate protected nucleotide prodrug chemistry, and glycoprotein-engineering of interferons (Glycoferon). This complementary group of platform technologies has the potential to generate a number of distinct therapeutic products to treat a variety of serious viral infections such as chronic hepatitis B and C, HIV infection, and respiratory viruses (e.g. pandemic influenza) and emerging viral diseases (e.g. SARS).
Ascent Therapeutics Inc.
Frederick Jones, Cambridge, MA, US
Ascent Therapeutics is developing Pepducin™ lipopeptides, novel molecules that exquisitely target the intracellular domains of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) to allosterically modulate GPCR signalling. Ascent has programs in oncology, inflammation, cardiovascular and GI disease.
Avila Therapeutics, Inc.
Katrine Bosley, Waltham, MA, US
Avila Therapeutics is a drug discovery company developing a novel proprietary chemistry platform - Avilomics™ - for the generation of new medicines that covalently bond to and silence disease-causing proteins. A pipeline of novel therapeutics is being developed for viral infection, cancer and autommine diseases.
Bicycle Therapeutics Ltd.
John Tite, Cambridge, UK
http://www.bicycletherapeutics.com
Bicycle Therapeutics is developing a platform technology to create a new generation of biotherapeutics combining features of small molecules and biopharmaceuticals to create highly specific and highly stable drugs.Bicycle Therapeutics is a spin-out from the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, based on the work of the founding scientists Sir Gregory Winter and Dr.Christian Heinis.
BioRelix Inc.
Brian Dixon, New Haven, CT, US
BioRelix discovers and develops antibiotics that target pathogens resistant to currently available drugs by using novel patented bacterial RNA targets called “RiboSwitches™”
Catalyst Biosciences Inc.
Nassim Usman, South San Francisco, CA, US
http://www.catalystbiosciences.com
Catalyst creates novel catalytic biopharmaceutical products based on engineered human proteases with the aim to to establish protease therapeutics as a therapeutic platform.
Cellerix SA
Eduardo Bravo, Madrid, ES
Cellerix SA is a Madrid-based biopharmaceutical company (Spain) that is developing innovative medicines with advanced clinical programs that are using stem cells of adipocytes origin, for the treatment of various indication including fistulas. Company is in phase III for an autologous approach and in phase II for an allogenic approach.
Cequent Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Peter Parker, Cambridge, MA, US
Cequent is pioneering the development of novel therapeutics to prevent and treat a wide range of human diseases – from inflammatory diseases to cancer – based on the company’s proprietary technology, TransKingdom RNA interference (tkRNAi) which uses non-pathogenic bacteria as an engine to produce and deliver RNAi directly into cells. Cequent’s first products, now in pre-clinical development, are drug candidates targeting colon-cancer prevention and inflammatory bowel disease.
Covagen AG
Julian Bertschinger, Zürich, CH
Covagen develops protein therapeutics based on an own protein engineering technology and on Fynomers, a novel protein scaffold.
Cylene Pharmaceuticals Inc.
William Rice, San Diego, CA, US
Cylene uses its proprietary Ribosomal RNA Biosynthesis Inhibition Technology to create small molecule oncology products that act through a validated anti-cancer pathway and target a Protein:DNA complex (Nucleolin:G-Quadruplex) that is amplifi ed in cancer cells, thereby inducing apoptosis in the cancer cells but not normal cells.
Destiny Pharma Ltd.
Bill Love, Brighton, UK,
http://www.destiny-pharma.demon.co.uk
Destiny Pharma Ltd focuses on the treatment and prevention of microbial infections. It is developing products which are effective against hospital “superbugs” such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Diagnoplex Biosciences AG
Stavros Therianos, Lausanne, CH
Diagnoplex is leveraging its molecular platform capabilities to develop a colorectal cancer (CRC) screening test. Diagnoplex’s non-invasive CRC test, named “COLOX”, will be made available as a ready-to-use clinical laboratory kit.
Euthymics Bioscience Inc.
Anthony A. McKinney, Cambridge, MA, USA
$vwww.euthymics.com/index.html
Euthymics is a privately held, Boston-based, clinical-stage drug development company with an initial focus on next-generation antidepressants. Euthymics' target patients are those who do not respond adequately to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which represent the majority of prescriptions for the antidepressant market. The company's lead program, an unbalanced triple reuptake inhibitor for treatment resistant depression is in PhII. In addition the company has a pipeline of CNS assets including compounds for the treatment of ADHD, neuropathic pain and alleviation of addiction.
Evolva AG
Neil Goldsmith, Basel, CH
Evolva evolves small molecule drugs using massively combinatorial gene libraries that drive chemistry-rich pathways. The pathways are bred in yeast and iteratively screened for function. Its Watchmaker® generates molecules that are outside the scope of the traditional synthetic chemistry approaches. The company will soon engage in clinical trials in the areas of cardiovascular and anti-fungi.
Eyesense AG
Peter Herbrechtsmeier, Frankfurt, D
EyeSense develops an ophthalmic diagnostics system which can measure glucose levels without sampling blood. It is based on measuring the glucose in the interstitial fluid below the conjunctiva of the eye using a hand-held optical read-out device.
FoldRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Richard Labaudiniere, Cambridge, MA, US
FoldRx develops small molecule therapeutics to treat diseases of protein misfolding and aggregation. Its pipeline is initially for hereditary amyloidosis and neurodegenerative diseases.
Forma Therapeutics Inc.
Steven Tregay, Cambridge, MA, US
http://www.formatherapeutics.com
Forma Therapeutics technologies enable screening, identification and characterization of small molecules that exhibit different binding modes. The technology applies peptides, protein or small molecules as ligands to probe/assay interaction sites and the implementation of high throughput screening assays for identification of novel small molecules for specific target sites in oncology and ID.
Genedata AG
Othmar Pfannes, Basel, CH
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 pharma and biotech companies.
GlycoMimetics Inc.
Rachel King, Gaithersburg, MD, US
GlycoMimetics develops small molecule drugs that mimic the functions of certain carbohydrates. The company’s initial focus is on therapeutics to treat a variety of inflammatory conditions and an adjunctive therapy for use with antibiotics in the treatment of chronic Pseudomonas infections.
Heptares Therapeutics Ltd.
Malcolm Weir, London, UK
Heptares Therapeutics Ltd is a new drug discovery company whose aim is to apply structural knowledge of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) to the design and development of its own drug molecules. HTL is a spin-out from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, based on the pioneering work of the founding scientists Richard Henderson and Chris Tate and of a wider group of MRC scientists, including Gebhard Schertler, and Ed Hulme of the National Institute of Medical Research.
Immune Targeting Systems Ltd.
Carlton Brown, London, UK
http://www.its-innovation.co.uk
Immune Targeting System Ltd. is a London based vaccine company developing vaccines for mutating viruses. Its innovative synthetic T cell platform allows to develop novel vaccines for the prevention and treatment of major life-threatening viral infections of global impact, including pandemic and seasonal influenza.
Intellikine, Inc.
Troy Wilson, San Diego, CA, USA
Intellikine develops novel oral small molecules in the PI3K/mTOR pathway with a focus on Oncology and Immunology.
Intradigm Corporation (merged, now Silence Therapeutics)
Mohammad Azab, Palo Alto, CA, US
Intradigm is developing siRNA- derived cancer therapeutics utilizing its proprietary RNAi delivery technology. The company’s lead product ICS-283 is an anti-angiogenic VEGF-targeted cancer therapeutic using the company’s proprietary RNAi delivery technology.
LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Don Beeman, Bozeman, MT, US
LigoCyte Pharmaceuticals is focused at novel vaccines based on its proprietary virus-like particle technology platform. The lead project is a Norovirus and Influenza vaccine.
MerLion Pharmaceuticals Pte Ltd.
Tony Buss, Singapore
Merlion Pharmaceuticals maintains one of the word's largest and most diverse collections of natural product samples, and has an antiinfective compound in early clinical development.
Merus Biopharmaceuticals BV
Ton Logtenberg, Utrecht, NL
Merus is a drug discovery company leveraging proprietary antibody platforms directed to generation and production of multiple monoclonal antibodies (termed Oligoclonics) and bi-specific antibodies (termed Biclonics) from a single cell line. The technology platform leverages fixed VL chains to produce functional monoclonal and bi-specific antibodies in a single cell. Merus’ lead programs are Oligoclonic products.
MicroCHIPS Inc.
John T. Santini, Bedford MA, US
MicroCHIPS, Inc. develops devices for the controlled release of drugs and the elective exposure of biosensors using its patented reservoir array technologies.
Nabriva Therapeutics AG
David Chiswell, Vienna, AT
Nabriva is a specialist antibiotic company with the objective of discovering and developing innovative antibacterials positioned to battle antibiotic resistance in Gram-positive and Gram-negative pathogens.
NanoPowers AG
Martin Horst, Lausanne, CH
NanoPowers aims to develop artificial muscles for various implant indications. The Company has developed several animal proof of concepts, and is entering preclinical stages with devices aimed for the treatment of urinary and fecal incontinences.
Neomics Co. Ltd.
Chiuk In, Seoul, South Korea
Neomics develops novel therapeutics with applications in oncology and tissue regeneration.
Neovacs SA
Guy-Charles Fanneau de La Horie, Paris, FR
NeoVacs SA is a Paris based vaccine company pioneering the next generation of anti-body therapies against human cytokines with a novel active immunization approach. Its innovative platform is used to develop vaccine products that are inducing e.g. an anti-TNFα, anti-VEGF and anti-IFNα polyclonal responses, and that are targeting broad pharmaceutical markets.
Nereus Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Kobi M. Sethna, San Diego, CA, US
Nereus pursues untapped sources of chemical diversity which together with it’s expertise in marine microbiology and integrated technologies enabled the identification and development of two oncology drug candidates which are in Phase I clinical trials.
NovImmune AG
Jack Barbut, Geneva, CH
NovImmune is a drug development company focusing on immune mechanisms targeted to inflammation. NovImmune has a portfolio of fully human therapeutic monoclonal antibodies in development, including NI-0501 and NI-0401 (anti-CD3) at Ph IIa.
Okairos AG
Riccardo Cortese, Basel, CH
Okairos is a Swiss based vaccine company, with a subsidiary in Italy, developing vaccines for mutating viruses. Its innovative viral adenovirus T cell platform allows to develop novel vaccines for the prevention and treatment of major life-threatening infections, including malaria and hepatitis C. Company has entered clinical stage.
Opsona Ltd
Mark Heffernan, Dublin, Ireland
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 pre-clinical development which modulate the innate immune system, including biologics and small molecules that are targeting TLR-2 and Nalp-3 The company has signed some significant partnering and collaborative deals, such as with Wyeth.
Oxagen Ltd.
Mark Payton, Oxford, UK
Oxagen is a drug discovery and development company specializing in inflammation with a first in class CRTH2 antagonist programme in inflammatory and respiratory diseases.
Paratek Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Thomas Bigger, Boston, MA, US
Paratek is engaged in the discovery and commercialization of new anti-infectives based on novel tetracycline structures that allow for antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.
PharmAbcine
Jin San Yoo, Seoul, South Korea
PharmAbcine develops fully human therapeutic monoclonal antibody for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases. PharmAbcine is a spin-out from Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology (KRIBB).
Phenomix Corporation
Laura Shawver, San Diego, CA, US
Phenomix is a drug discovery and development company focused on proven targets in large markets. The company’s lead drug candidate, PHX1149, is in Phase II testing as an orally available treatment for type II diabetes.
Polyphor AG
Jean-Pierre Obrecht, Allschwil, CH
Polyphor delivers syntheses of focused libraries of small molecules and epitope mimetic proteins of high purity and in substantial quantity and performs lead optimization, utilizing rapid parallel synthesis production. In parallel, Polyphor develops its own drugs and has a drug candidate for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in clinical phase I.
Portaero, Inc.
David Plough, Cupertino, CA, US
Portaero is a medical technology company developing a device for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, in particular emphysema.
ProCertus BioPharm Inc.
Paul M. Weiss, Madison, WI, US
Procertus aims to discover and develop products that will protect cancer patients against chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-induced dermatological and gastrointestinal side effects.
Proteostasis Therapeutics Inc.
Christopher Mirabelli, Cambridge, MA, US
Proteostasis Therapeutics is discovering and developing novel small molecule therapeutics designed to control the body’s protein homeostasis, or Proteostasis Network. The Proteostasis Network maintains the body’s natural balance of proteins to protect us from numerous diseases. These novel therapies, or Proteostasis Regulators, are designed to treat multiple genetic and degenerative disorders associated with deficiencies of the Proteostasis Network, such as Alzheimer’s disease, emphysema, Huntington’s disease, and type II diabetes.
PTC Therapeutics Inc.
Stuart Peltz, South Plainfield, NJ, USA
PTC Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of orally administered, proprietary small-molecule drugs that target post-transcriptional control processes.
Pulmatrix, Inc.
Robert Connelly, CEO, Lexington, MA
Pulmatrix is discovering a new class of host-targeted therapies that treat, prevent and help control a broad range of respiratory infections and progressive respiratory diseases. Pulmatrix’s innovative pathogen independent approach harnesses the airway and lungs own natural biophysical and host defense mechanisms, offering potential for individual therapies that treat serious respiratory diseases including influenza, rhinovirus, COPD, asthma and cystic fibrosis.
Ra Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Doug Treco, Cambridge, MA, US
Ra Pharmaceuticals is developing a novel class of orally bioavailable biologic drugs designed to modulate an array of intracellular,cell surface, and circulating proteins.
S*BIO Pte Ltd
Jan-Anders Karlsson, Singapore
S*Bio joined our portfolio as a former Chiron investment. S*Bio is a drug discovery company with a small molecule approach to cancer targets.
Sonitus Medical Inc.
Amir Abolfathi CEO, San Mateo CA, US
Sonitus Medical is developing innovative medical device products to treat hearing disorders.
Symetis AG
Jacques Essinger, Lausanne, CH
Development of a catheter-mediated delivery system on the beating heart to insert stented mechanical valves for application in cardiac valve replacement.
SynphaBase AG
Arthur Bodenmueller, Pratteln, CH
SynphaBase offers custom-synthesis of life science intermediate products obtained by synthetic and bioorganic methods, including chiral building blocks, amino and hydroxyl carbonic acids and peptides/glycopeptides.
Tepha Inc.
Simon Williams, Lexington, MA, US
Tepha’s proprietary technology utilizes genetic engineering to produce bioabsorbable polymers, known as polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs). Potential products range from medical devices, such as surgical patches, sutures and ligaments to cardiovascular stents and drug delivery systems.
Tokai Pharmaceuticals
Seth Harrison; Cambridge, MA
Tokai develops best-in-class therapies for hormone-dependent growth disorders. The company's lead program is a proprietary small molecule Specific Androgen Receptor Modulator/Lyase Inhibitor (SARM/LI) for Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer (CRPC), a disease that kills around 30,000 men annually in the U.S.
Trellis Bioscience, Inc.
Stote Ellsworth, South San Francisco, CA, US
Trellis Bioscience is a private biotechnology company leveraging its proprietary CellSpot™ technology to deliver higher quality therapeutic monoclonal antibodies. The company has programs in infectious disease and oncology.
Viamet Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Robert Schotzinger, Morrisville, NC, US
Viamet discovers and develops "best-in-class" small-molecule inhibitors of validated metalloenzymes via an innovative and proprietary metal-binding, using their trade mark Metallophile Technology.