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Three Selvedge Venture portfolio companies were featured in the April issue of Nature

Nature has published their April 2022 Biopharma Dealmakers collection on the Advances in Artificial Intelligence-Driven Drug Development presenting companies “harnessing the power of artificial intelligence for the development of cutting-edge tools and novel approaches to accelerate drug discovery and research”. 

We are very excited to have three Selvedge Venture Life Sciences AI companies featured in this collection! Click the links below to view the individual articles:

BIOS Health: Using data-driven insigths from the nrevous system to build neural digital therapies

Exogene Ltd: How artificial intelligence is enabling T cell receptor screening for cell therapy discovery

Multiomic Health Limited: Leveraging deep omics data to tackle a global health challenge with precision

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On a journey to drastically speed up cell therapy manufacturing, Kytopen lands $30M Series A

Spun out of an MIT lab, sitting in an office space above a Cambridge tapas restaurant from world-renowned chef Ken Oringer is a biotech focused on drastically reducing the amount of time it takes to make cell therapies. And Tuesday, the company co-founded by Paulo Garcia and Cullen Buie said it raised $30 million in Series A funding.

The funding will go toward commercializing its system for accelerating engineered cell therapy production, known as Flowfect Tx. The round also will allow the company to move toward treating its first human with the technology, which it says can engineer simple non-viral manufacturing of cell therapies in just a few days as opposed to weeks.

The fundraising round was led by Northpond Ventures, which said that Kytopen stood out because of its platform-driven approach that broadly addresses the needs of therapeutics. Current investors The Engine, Horizon Ventures, and Mass Ventures all contributed to the round, as well as Aldevron co-founders Michael Chambers and John Ballantyne and Alexandria Venture Investments.

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London-based health startup snaps up £2M to turbocharge diagnostics development with clinically validated home testing

The complexity of health and disease cannot be captured by a singular diagnostic test and therefore can’t be expected to deliver true impact. Attempting to create a paradigm shift in diagnostics development by making them 10x more effective, faster and impactful is London-based early-stage biotech company Sanome.

The health startup has raised £2 million as its first round of funding from a number of leading UK and European health tech specialist investors. The round was led by Heal Capital, with participation from Crista Galli Ventures, Selvedge Ventures, o2h Ventures, Meltwind and a number of high-profile angels, including David Cleevely and Pam Garside.

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WSJ features Ochre Bio: “Biotech Startup Ochre Bio Lands Seed Financing to Combat Liver Diseases”

Brian Gormley ⁦of The Wall Street Journal has featured Ochre Bio and their novel approach to tackling chronic liver disease (a top ten cause of death globally).

“We’re starting with a focus on improving outcomes for transplant patients, and are making exciting progress scientifically here in Oxford. With great investors onboard, a wonderful team coming together, and an international network of transplant / clinical partners – we are well on our way to developing life-saving medicines for one of the toughest healthcare challenges of our time” said Ochre Bio.

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CogX Shortlists BIOS in their AI awards for Best Innovation in Pharma

We are thrilled to announce that BIOS was shortlisted for the “Best Innovation in Pharma” in this year’s CogX Awards.

The CogX Awards are the most exciting celebration of innovation and transformational opportunities in the world – a time to give the companies and individuals making a difference a platform.

This year, award categories are spread across six themes: Recognising Leadership, Best AI Product, Best Innovation, Outstanding Achievements & Research Contributions, Best Climate Innovation and Global Goals – with more than 60 individual categories covering verticals from AI to Global Leadership, Financial Services to Climate Change, and from GenZ to Covid-19 Response.

 

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These Are The Top 101 Therapeutics Startups to Follow in 2021

This article showcases Startup Pill’s top picks for the best Therapeutics startups. These startups are taking a variety of approaches to innovating inside of the Therapeutics industry and around the world. They are all exceptional startups well worth a follow.

We tried to pick companies across the size spectrum from cutting edge startups to established brands.

We selected these startups for exceptional performance in one of these categories:

  • Innovation
    • Innovative ideas
    • Innovative route to market
    • Innovative product
  • Growth
    • Exceptional growth
    • Exceptional growth strategy
  • Management
  • Societal impact
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Lyfebulb-CSL Behring Innovation Challenge: Thriving with Transplantation

The goal of the 2021 Lyfebulb-CSL Behring Innovation Challenge: Thriving with Transplantation is to source innovative solutions to improve outcomes and experiences for all those affected by transplantation.

The Innovation Challenge will take place virtually in May 2021 and is currently accepting applications through February 19, 2021. Patient entrepreneurs – those who have been affected by chronic disease as either a patient or support partner for a loved one and started a company to develop solutions to an unmet need identified in their disease journey – are encouraged to apply.

Selected finalists will receive an invitation to pitch their company’s solutions to an expert panel of judges comprised of healthcare industry, medical and patient leaders. One winner will be awarded a $25,000 monetary grant. Competing finalists may be considered for possible partnerships or investments beyond the challenge. Beyond presenting their innovative ventures, the finalists will have the opportunity to exchange ideas on how to further advance patient innovation in the transplant community; engage with Lyfebulb founders, CSL Behring leadership leadership, representatives from the patient community, key opinion leaders and potential investors; and share insights with each other.

The Lyfebulb-CSL Behring Innovation Challenge stems from the idea of the Lyfebulb Entrepreneur Circle, established in 2015, and features individuals who have created a product and a company based on the issues encountered due to their personal experiences with a chronic illness (through their own diagnosis or that of a loved one).

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Oxford Medical Products closes £1.2 million for weight loss technology

Oxford Medical Products (OMP) has raised £1.2M in seed investment to develop a safe and affordable weight loss capsule, which uses the same mechanism of action as a gastric balloon, but can be taken at home. The funding will be used to complete pre-clinical testing, upscale and outsource manufacturing and grow the team. The funding was led by Ada Ventures with Selvedge Venture alongside several angel investors including Dr Nick Edwards, a founder of the company, and Dr Jan Hruska, co-founder of Sophos.

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OMP receives €1.3 million for Sirona self-expanding hydrogel weight loss capsule

Oxford Medical Products (OMP) has raised €1.3 million to develop a safe and affordable weight loss capsule, which uses the same mechanism of action as a gastric balloon, but can be taken at home. The funding will be used to complete pre-clinical testing, upscale and outsource manufacturing and develop the company’s workforce.

The company’s non-surgical weight loss technology Sirona, is a self-expanding hydrogel capsule that once swallowed expands in the stomach, reducing hunger and, the company claims, leading to significant weight loss. The capsules stay in the stomach for several weeks before breaking down gradually and passing naturally over time.

Oxford Medical Products was founded in 2017 by Professor Jan Czenurska a world-renowned expert in hydrogels, and Dr Hutan Ashrafian a pioneering bariatric surgeon – with Dr Camilla Easter and Dr Nick Edwards, two medically trained entrepreneurs, joining Oxford Medical Products soon after.