Our Innovation Analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on innovative solutions for the pharma sector. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we decided to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising biotherapeutics startups.
Heat Map: 5 Top Biotherapeutics Startups
Using our StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 1.379.000+ startups & scaleups globally, we looked at innovation in the field of pharma. For this research, we identified 451 relevant solutions and picked 5 to showcase below. These companies were chosen based on a data-driven startup scouting approach, taking into account factors such as location, founding year, and relevance of technology, among others. Depending on your specific criteria, the top picks might look entirely different.
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 startups & emerging companies developing biotherapeutics. Moreover, the Heat Map reveals regions that observe a high startup activity and illustrates the geographic distribution of all 451 companies we analyzed for this specific topic.
Aro Biotherapeutics – Protein Therapeutics
Unlike chemically synthesized drugs, protein therapeutics are generally larger and more complex molecules. The protein moieties then trigger complex functions with high specificity, minimizing side effects. However, protein therapeutics replace a deficient or abnormal protein, interfere with a disease-causing pathway, or deliver a conjugate drug payload to a specific target.
Aro Biotherapeutics is a US-based startup that develops protein therapeutics. The startup builds upon Centyrins, a next-generation protein platform, to deliver new medicines for unmet needs. The lead candidate in their pipeline is a bispecific Centyrin that targets promoters of tumor cell proliferation. Moreover, being a fraction of the size of antibodies, Centyrins enable higher payload concentrations in target tissues.
BiVictrix – Bispecific Therapeutics
Antibody-drug conjugates target specific antigens present on the surface of tumor cells. However, many of these antigens are often present in other kinds of cells as well, leading to off-target toxicity. Pharma startups and scaleups are working to develop bispecific therapeutics.
British oncology startup BiVictriX offers bispecific biotherapeutics with improved potency and therapeutic effects. Bi-Cygni, the startup’s proprietary technology, converts cancer-restricted antigen combinations into potent and bispecific therapeutics. Since only the cancer cells share the antigen fingerprint, the solution ensures efficient internalization, payload delivery, and selective cell death.
Aleta Biotherapeutics – Cellular Therapeutics
Cellular therapeutics use cultured cells, often genetically engineered, to replace or repair damaged cells within patient bodies. On the other hand, stem cells naturally replenish damaged tissue or secrete soluble factors that promote regeneration. Startups are using these therapies to offer treatments for degenerative diseases and cancers.
Aleta Biotherapeutics is a US-based startup that develops cellular therapeutics for cancer treatment. The startup engineers chimeric antigen receptor (CAR19) T-cells to deliver therapeutic loads to tumor cells. Aleta’s pipeline includes therapies for the treatment of central nervous system (CNM) tumors, and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), as well as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
Versameb – Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)-Based Therapeutics
In cells, RNA modulates the expression of different proteins and other subcellular processes. RNA-based therapeutics exploit this to selectively trigger protein expression to eventually alter a diseased state. Startups are working on messenger RNA (mRNA)-based solutions as protein-replacement therapies for the treatment of rare conditions like hemophilia.
Swiss startup Versameb offers novel RNA-based therapeutics. The VERSagile platform uses mRNA to trigger the production of functional proteins in the patient’s cells. The startup discovers ways to optimize protein production to modulate the translation of disease-related proteins. Versameb’s lead candidate is under preclinical investigation for the treatment of acute muscle injuries.
Valo Therapeutics – Cancer Immunotherapy
Oncolytic viral vaccines encode for tumor antigens in the viral genome, triggering an immune response. Their usage is limited because the immune response to the virus overpowers the anti-tumor response in most patients. Startups are now working on solutions that coat the antigens on viruses that act as delivery systems. This also enables the development of vaccines for different cancers based on the same system by just coating them with a different antigen.
Valo Therapeutics is a Finnish startup that develops a cancer immunotherapy solution. PepticCRAd, short for peptide-coated conditionally replicating adenovirus, combines an oncolytic adenovirus and a peptide vaccine. Then, the immunogenic tumor peptides adsorb onto the negatively charged viral capsid.
What About The Other 446 Solutions?
While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence and enable you to achieve your goals faster. The 5 biotherapeutics startups showcased above are promising examples out of 451 we analyzed for this article. To identify the most relevant solutions based on your specific criteria, get in touch.
