Babraham Investor Conference
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Taylor Vinters is an international law firm supporting the businesses which drive the innovation economy, and the entrepreneurs and private wealth that underpin them.
Handelsbanken is a full-service bank with a decentralised way of working, a strong local presence due to a nationwide network of over 200 branches and a long-term approach to customer relations.
Keynote Speaker: Daniel Mahony PhD
Polar Capital is a specialist, investment-led, active fund manager who strive to be investment leaders.
Polar Capital
Daniel Mahony PhD
Daniel Mahony is Co-Head of the Healthcare team at Polar Capital. He studied biochemistry at the University of Oxford and received his Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. Daniel moved to California to work as a research scientist at Schering Plough Corporation (now Merck & Co.) in 1995 and made the transition into financial services in 1998, working for ING Barings in New York and Morgan Stanley in London as head of the European healthcare research team. In 2007, he set up Polar Capital’s healthcare team. He has over 29 years of experience within global healthcare covering sectors including biotechnology, medical technology and healthcare services. This is the sort of information that has already been provided by the other applicants. They are free to adjust the input, as are you, but I thought an outline of what others have already answered may help.
Polar Capital
Polar Capital is a specialist, investment-led, active fund manager who strive to be investment leaders.
Keynote Speaker: Martin Murphy PhD
Syncona, is a leading FTSE 250 healthcare company focused on founding, building and funding a portfolio of global leaders in life sciences.
Company and Speaker Bio
Martin Murphy PhD
Martin Murphy is CEO of Syncona Investment Management Ltd. He co-founded Syncona in 2012 alongside the Wellcome Trust. Since then, Martin has been closely involved in the foundation and development of seven Syncona companies, including: Achilles Therapeutics, Autolus, OMass Therapeutics, Quell Therapeutics, Anaveon and Resolution Therapeutics. He was previously Chairman of Blue Earth Diagnostics, which Syncona sold to Bracco Imaging for $476 million in 2019. Previously, he was a partner at MVM Life Science Partners LLP, a venture capital company focused on life science and healthcare, where he led their European operations. Martin has also held roles with 3i Group plc and McKinsey & Company. He has a PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Cambridge.
Syncona
Syncona, is a leading FTSE 250 healthcare company focused on founding, building and funding a portfolio of global leaders in life sciences.
Critical Pressure is a pre-clinical stage company with a novel vasopressor asset that targets the pathophysiology of septic shock and post coronary artery bypass vasoplegia.
Company Bio
Critical Pressure
Critical Pressure is a pre-clinical stage company with a novel vasopressor asset that targets the pathophysiology of septic shock and post coronary artery bypass vasoplegia. The company is 12 months away from phase I clinical trial with high quality preclinical data, an established large scale manufacturing pathway and a highly appealing toxicology profile.
Due to the end of the funding round from our previous partners at Medixci, we are in the unique position where, in spite of our excellent progress we have considerable flexibility for new investors to secure a high equity holding for only the cost of delivering the clinical trial programme. An investment in Critical Pressure has the potential to deliver very high yield in a relatively short time frame. We retain the expert management team and intellectual property and all of the decision making authority rests with us.
The target population is patients with septic shock (up to 300,000 cases per year in the USA) and post bypass vasoplegia (up to 20% of all coronary artery bypass surgeries).
A virtual biotech, Critical Pressure was founded by a clinical academic team in 2016 and is supported by an expert management team with extensive experience in early therapeutic development in a number of indications including critical care.
Dr Simon Lambden MD PhD, Founding Director, presented the recorded presentation for Critical Pressure.
Kalium Health is working to help millions of people living with kidney or heart disease to manage their health at home.
Company Bio
Kalium Health
Kalium Health is working to help millions of people living with kidney or heart disease to manage their health at home. We are developing a digital health platform to enable anyone, anywhere to monitor their blood electrolyte levels. This will reduce the need for patients to visit a clinic for invasive blood tests and will enable their healthcare provider to personalise their treatment, optimising outcomes and reducing the cost of care.
Kalium Health was founded in 2018 by four scientific, clinical and commercial co-founders who continue to lead the company. The company has its foundations in both the University of Cambridge and Accelerate@Babraham where it received its first vital funding and commercial support. The company currently has 9 staff and is based on Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Tom Collings, Co-founder and CEO, presented the recorded presentation for Kalium Health.
New Path Molecular is a University of Cambridge spin-out translating the ground-breaking work of Professor S. V. Ley in machine assisted synthesis of functional molecules into the discovery of small proteins to treat cancer and other diseases. New Path is developing molecules which bind to the abnormal lipids in cancer cell membranes and vasculature to target solid tumours.
Company Bio
New Path Molecular
New Path Molecular is a University of Cambridge spin-out translating the ground-breaking work of Professor S. V. Ley in machine assisted synthesis of functional molecules into the discovery of small proteins to treat cancer and other diseases. New Path is developing molecules which bind to the abnormal lipids in cancer cell membranes and vasculature to target solid tumours.
New Path is developing therapeutics IP for license to clinical stage developers in pharma and biotech.
New Path have developed an industry validated technology platform which we are using to develop IP in oncology. We have been collaborating with the Babraham Institute to develop a unique capability in lipid membrane biology.
Our co-founders are Prof S Ley, CTO Nikzad Nikbin (University of Cambridge), and CEO Elizabeth Farrant (Pfizer, GSK). We have a staff of 6 working at the Babraham Research Campus.
Dr Elizabeth Farrant, CEO, presented the recorded presentation for New Path Molecular.
Shift Bioscience are a self-originated company looking at health-span extension. The mission of Shift Bioscience is to enable curative drugs against age-linked diseases. We are raising new funds to ready our initial product (SB200) for licensing to Pharma, and to build a platform for the next generation of health-span extension therapeutics.
Company Bio
Shift Bioscience
Shift Bioscience are a self-originated company looking at health-span extension. The mission of Shift Bioscience is to enable curative drugs against age-linked diseases. We are raising new funds to ready our initial product (SB200) for licensing to Pharma, and to build a platform for the next generation of health-span extension therapeutics.
Shift Bioscience is developing drugs for mitochondrial and nuclear rejuvenation in humans, which will enable a step change in health-span extension. The initial product of Shift Bioscience is a small molecule drug that tackles a niche aspect of ageing biology, mitochondrial DNA mutations. Our long term plan is to develop a wide range of health-extension therapeutics. These will be based on a common platform technology being developed today, which will enable a step change in the efficacy of drugs targeting age-linked diseases.
The reason we are pursuing our mission is to enable the transition away from the unsustainable health care cost trajectory that we observe in all advanced economies, recently exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Taking the US as an example, we are on a trajectory where national healthcare spending will increase from 14% of GDP in 2009 to 34% of GDP by 2040, compared to just 9% in 1980.
We are developing therapeutic intellectual property of value to large Pharmaceutical companies targeting one or more age-related diseases. We are also developing a bioinformatic methodology with diagnostic value for the early detection of age-linked diseases. Clinicians specialising in age- linked diseases would be target customers.
The Shift Bioscience team consists of four cofounders with backgrounds in mitochondrial biology, bioinformatic analysis and business. We are advised by Wolf Reik, an authority in epigenetic ageing biomarkers, and Aubrey de Grey, the greatest advocate of health-span extension. Ken Raj, an expert in the mechanistic study of ageing, is also a key collaborator (last but not least).
At Alchemab Therapeutics, we are harnessing the power of our immune system to cure disease. We turn drug discovery on its head by using nature’s most effective search engine: adaptive immunity.
Head of Departments
- Alex Leech, MBA – CEO
- Dr Jane Osbourn, OBE, PhD – CSO
- Dr Olivia Cavlan, MD – Head of Business & Operations
- Dr Ralph Minter, PhD, FRSB – Head of Research
Dr Jane Osbourn is presenting for Alchemab at the Babraham Investor Conference.
Alchemab Therapeutics
At Alchemab Therapeutics, we are harnessing the power of our immune system to cure disease.
We turn drug discovery on its head by using nature’s most effective search engine: adaptive immunity.
Alchemab identifies these naturally occurring protective antibodies by mining the antibody repertoires of individuals who are resistant to or recovered from disease. We are developing the antibodies into therapeutic products for broader use in patients who lack this protective response and are suffering from hard-to-treat diseases.
We have a range of programmes across cancers, neurodegenerative conditions, and infectious diseases.
Alchemab is led by an ambitious team of executives with considerable commercial and scientific experience within biotech and pharma.
- Alex Leech, MBA – CEO
- Dr Jane Osbourn, OBE, PhD – CSO
- Dr Olivia Cavlan, MD – Head of Business & Operations
- Dr Ralph Minter, PhD, FRSB – Head of Research
Dr Jane Osbourn is presenting for Alchemab at the Babraham Investor Conference.
A new novel technology platform for the production of low-cost glycoconjugate vaccines against several bacteria affecting poultry, pigs and ruminants.
ArkVax
ArkVax
A new novel technology platform for the production of low-cost glycoconjugate vaccines against several bacteria affecting poultry, pigs and ruminants.
Disease-free animals grow larger and generate more produce (milk and eggs). However, veterinary vaccinology has lagged behind the human equivalent, because in the livestock sector, the driver behind vaccine development is cost per dose. This has led to the overuse of antibiotics and a significant concern that this is contributing to the rise of antimicrobial resistance globally. Human and animal health are also inextricably linked. And many food-borne diseases can be treated in the food-chain, to prevent infection in the consumer.
ArkVax brings know-how developed through decades of research into the generation of anti- bacterial human vaccines to provide a solution to several animal diseases that are currently unmet or for which current vaccines, do not offer effective protection.
ArkVax was co-founded by Dr Jon Cuccui and Professor Brendan Wren.
Dr Jon Cuccui is presenting for ArkVax at the Babraham Investor Conference.
bit.bio are a spin out from Cambridge University specialising in human synthetic biology. Having access to unlimited supplies of human cells is a game changer – it will transform the biotech and medicine research landscape and enable a new generation of engineered cell therapies.
bit.bio
bit.bio
bit.bio are a spin out from Cambridge University specialising in human synthetic biology. Having access to unlimited supplies of human cells is a game changer – it will transform the biotech and medicine research landscape and enable a new generation of engineered cell therapies.
bit.bio is developing the capabilities to produce every human cell-type at scale. We believe this will transform the biotech and medicine research landscape and enable a new generation of cell therapies. Our approach is a cell reprogramming one – where we look at cells as running a sort of software. And opti-ox is our breakthrough technology which enables consistent reprogramming of cells based on the reliable activation of specific genes and genetic programs through genetic engineering.
Our technology taps into what you could call the software, or the operating system of a cell. Cell reprogramming relies on activation of genetic programs or gene regulatory networks that are controlled by transcription factors. Transcription factors are a class of proteins that activate or repress genes in a cell, they essentially determine which of the programs embedded in the DNA are active at any particular time. Combinations of transcription factors encode the identity of a cell; literally every cell type seems to be defined by a particular combination of transcription factors.
Our opti-ox technology makes it possible to activate transcription factors with a precision rarely seen in biology. The control of this approach is paramount to solving the scale up issue for any industrial use of cells.
Our ready-to-culture cells are suitable as models for research in cell-type specific biology, target validation and drug screening in pharmaceutical R&D, and toxicology testing. Our target markets include academics and those working in Pharmaceutical & Biotech, Clinical Research Organisations (CRO) and Cell therapy companies within the field of Development Biology and Stem Cell Research.
Founded by neurosurgeon and stem cell biologist Dr Mark Kotter, CEO, and his co-founder, CFO and COO Florian Schuster. The team is expanding rapidly and is currently around 110 employees including stem cell experts, genetic engineers, product developers and bioinformatics specialists.
Dr Mark Kotter is presenting for bit.bio at the Babraham Investor Conference.
ConcR is an emerging predictive software platform built to combat cancer, aiming to reduce the uncertainty involved in treating cancer and develop novel cancer therapeutics.
Concr
ConcR
ConcR is an emerging predictive software platform built to combat cancer, aiming to reduce the uncertainty involved in treating cancer and develop novel cancer therapeutics.
ConcR combines cutting edge machine learning techniques with deep scientific understanding of tumour progression to accurately predict cancers evolution in response to treatment. This will enable clinicians to adapt treatments proactively, rather than reactively, to prevent treatment resistance and improve treatment efficacy through precision medicine.
ConcR aims to:
- Reduce treatment resistance
- Cut the cost of cancer treatment
- Enable proactive treatment adaptation
- Save lives
Powerful predictions from sparse data – We only require small amounts of data to make predictions, allowing our technology to be used in a variety of ways.
Comprehensive models of dynamic systems – Simulate the dynamics of a tumour over time in response to different treatment strategies – or backwards to understand its origins.
Unifying the world’s data – Small data performance comes from the ability to generalise across disparate datasets, and integrate complex and varied data.
ConcR was co-founded by Matthew Griffiths, PhD, and Matthew Foster, PhD. Matthew Griffiths PhD is presenting for ConcR at the Babraham Investor Conference.
Maxion Therapeutics’ Knotbody technology has the potential to transform the treatment of ion channel driven disease.
maxion
Maxion Therapeutics
Maxion Therapeutics’ Knotbody technology has the potential to transform the treatment of ion channel driven disease.
Maxion is a newly founded drug discovery company solving a significant unmet global need with its novel, disruptive platform. Maxion can generate antibody-like therapeutics to target ion channel- driven diseases. Taking inspiration from nature, Maxion’s founders have merged ion channel modulating “mini-proteins” found in venoms and other sources (knottins) into the surface of antibodies to create antibody-like fusion proteins (KnotBodies). KnotBodies combine the best of both components by preserving the ion channel modulating function of knottins while enjoying the optimal drug like properties of antibodies. Maxion’s unique drug format will treat diseases such as chronic pain, autoimmune disorders and heart disease.
Maxion’s unique platform has significant advantages over others in the field and will address the need for antibody-like therapeutics targeting ion channels and other integral membrane proteins. Our innovative approach can unlocks thousands of potential knottin drugs while offering extended half-life and the engineerability/manufacturability achievable with modern phage and mammalian display technology. Our experienced team have already generated prototype KnotBodies to three therapeutically relevant ion channels with potential in pain, autoimmunity and in treatment of ischaemic heart disease. Maxion will build on our platform for generating KnotBodies while addressing key challenges in ion channel antibody discovery including recombinant antigen production, lead selection, screening methods and in vivo proof of concept.
The end-user of Maxion’s technology will be patients suffering from ion channel-driven diseases. Maxion’s direct customers will be pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies developing antibody drugs and motivated by the opportunities in ion channel targeting unveiled by Maxion’s technology. There are currently no approved biologics targeting ion channels to act as direct comparators. The overall market size for therapeutic antibodies continues to grow being valued at $123 billion in 2019 with CAGR of 14% (Fortune Business Insight, 2020). Maxion will tap into this buoyant antibody market, generating revenue through collaborative research programmes and through licensing in-house KnotBody products.
The experienced senior founding team consists of:
- CSO Aneesh Karatt Vellatt (co-inventor of KnotBody technology)
- CEO John McCafferty PhD (co-inventor antibody-phage display, founder of Cambridge
- Antibody Technology and IONTAS.)
- Hilary van der Hoff (Patent counsel)
The company commenced operations in November 2020, has 6 staff and benefits from 5 years of KnotBody development at IONTAS with a granted European patent on the technology.
John McCafferty PhD is presenting for Maxion Therapeutics at the Babraham Investor Conference.
NRG Therapeutics is a drug discovery company focused on therapeutic approaches that will restore mitochondrial function and slow or halt the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
NRG
NRG Therapeutics
NRG Therapeutics are an exciting early stage biotech company with an established and proven team.
NRG Therapeutics is a drug discovery company focused on therapeutic approaches that will restore mitochondrial function and slow or halt the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and motor neurone disease. Founded in 2018 by a team of experienced biotech and pharmaceutical industry professionals, with a background in neuroscience drug discovery, NRG Therapeutics will initially focus on the discovery and development of brain penetrant mitochondrial permeability transition pore inhibitors for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Initially the target of NRG Therapeutics was treating Parkinson’s, but further neurodegeneration areas are now being explored.
The team includes co- founders Dr Neil Miller, CEO, who has 20 years pharma & biotech experience, and Dr Richard Rutter, CSO, who has 15 years pharma & biotech experience. Grant Hawthorne is COO, with 20 years finance and operations experience. Directors include Arthur Roach, PUK, and Richard Seabrook, previous Head of Business Development at the Wellcome Trust.
Dr Neil Miller is presenting for NRG Therapeutics at the Babraham Investor Conference.
Of all the children who are deaf across the world fewer than 10% are wearing a hearing aid of any kind. Paediatric HealthTech in collaboration with Raspberry Pi has developed an affordable solution for the most common type of hearing loss in childhood affecting the middle ear.
Paediatric HealthTech
Paediatric HealthTech
Of all the children who are deaf across the world fewer than 10% are wearing a hearing aid of any kind. Paediatric HealthTech in collaboration with Raspberry Pi has developed an affordable solution for the most common type of hearing loss in childhood affecting the middle ear.
Children have small anatomy and after a cough, cold or ear infection can suffer with fluid build-up behind the ear drum affecting the transfer of sound. This condition is known as ‘glue ear’. The hearing aids that work well for this condition transfer sound using bone conduction technology which can be expensive, up to £3000. A solution nearer £50 for a headset (which aims to be available to the public later in 2021) has been trialled alongside the free app called Hear Glue Ear (available now on google and android app stores) which aims to prevent children falling behind while they have glue ear, and help families monitor and self-manage the condition at home between appointments.
This solution was researched during the Covid pandemic in 2020 when children were unable to access hearing services or grommet operations, where the whole product: headset, microphone and app was sent by post to families who were then able to manage their child’s condition at home by using the app to check hearing and using the headset to support hearing loss (the research has been submitted for journal peer review but in the meantime due to its relevance to Covid has been published on medRxiv and European PubMed https://medrxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2021.01.21.21249496v1).
During Covid new hearing challenges emerged for all ages regardless of hearing levels, since facial expressions and lip reading was covered by face-masks and on-line learning and socialising started: These challenges were well supported by the product set. The product set has begun use at Addenbrookes Hospital and will be available to the public in summer 2021. Philanthropic funders are sought for trials in low income countries.
Dr Tamsin Holland-Brown the Founder of Paediatric HealthTech is presenting at the Babraham Investor Conference.
Stroma Biosciences is a pre-clinical target and drug discovery venture focused on the tumour microenvironment.
Stroma Biosciences
Stroma Biosciences
Stroma Biosciences is a pre-clinical target and drug discovery venture focused on the tumour microenvironment.
Stroma Biosciences is a pre-seed stage spinout based on the translational research originating from Dr Ingo Ringshausen’s laboratory within the Department of Haematology and Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. Stroma Biosciences aims to initially broaden a stroma-focused target discovery platform, which has already yielded clinically confirmed biology, in blood and solid tumours. Proposed initial target discovery would focus on signalling and surface-expressed targets amenable to kinase inhibitor and antibody therapies. Subsequently, Stroma Biosciences seeks to develop therapeutics specifically targeting identified stroma-intrinsic pathways within the tumour microenvironment with specialized partners. The therapeutic approach of targeting stroma also holds clinical potential in other immune-mediated disorders such as autoimmunity, due to critically relied upon conserved dependencies upon the neighbouring environment.
Stroma was co-founded by Dr Ingo Ringshausen and post-doc Dr Eugene Park.
Dr Eugene Park is presenting for Stroma Biosciences at the Babraham Investor Conference.
TRx Biosciences is a private start up and biotech spin out. TRx is a rapidly growing platform development company with an already impressive pipeline and collaborations. Its proven technology underpins a tremendous value growth potential in TRx and an early exit for investors is a key focus of the team. TRx are looking to raise awareness of TRx to Pharma, Collaborators and Early stage investors, and are looking for funding of up to £500K from an Angel VC or Private investor.
If you have any questions or would like to get in contact with any of the above companies, please contact register@babraham.co.uk with your details.