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Thrive Bioscience is commercializing automated, analytical cell management laboratory instruments with integrated disposables. Thrive systems target the existing manual cell culture market ($8B), the cell-based assay market ($14B) and multi-billion dollar emerging markets for cell therapeutics. Thrive systems monitor, maintain, and passage cell lines, as well as run assays and generate large amounts of previously unavailable data.

Current methods of cell culture, developed more than 50 years ago, are now a major bottleneck holding back research and medicine, and cost society billions of dollars annually in waste and lost opportunity. Thrive Bioscience is the first company to wholly automate cell culture in research, diagnostic, and therapeutic markets.

Cell culture, especially the growth of human and other mammalian cells, is a fundamental tool used in science and medicine. As an example, the market for cell-based assays used in drug discovery accounts for $14B annually. One of the most rapidly growing and emerging segments requiring automated cell culture is the personal cell-based therapeutics market, for which human cells are genetically engineered, and then re-implanted into a patient.

IR2Dx Company Overview:

IR2Dx has developed a proprietary, breakthrough analysis and reporting system for multi-marker diagnostic test panels, to provide highly personalized treatment strategies for patients with Type 2 diabetes.  While control of glucose levels remains an important factor in the treatment of the disease, the IR2Dx platform evaluates the individual disease pathways for each patient, providing critical information regarding multiple markers and their overall pattern, all of which contribute to management of underlying disease.  This information can then be used by physicians to guide treatment decisions to deliver precision medicine in diabetes. 

Today, there are approximately 382 million people with diabetes in the world, and this number is expected to grow to 592 million by 2035.  The worldwide available market for early detection and drug response diabetes diagnostics is greater than $20 billion.  IR2Dx can enter the market within the current reimbursement and regulatory environments, and is ready to launch its first products in H1 2015 through commercial laboratories.

The IR2Dx platform provides personalized treatment information and recommendations to physicians based on a proprietary decision tree algorithm, greatly enhancing the clinical utility of a laboratory report.  Existing reimbursement levels for the panel markers in the U.S. and key international markets adequately cover the addition of the IR2Dx analysis and reporting. 

The platform is a software-based decision analysis tool. The analysis is performed on results from commercially available diagnostic tests run using standard laboratory bench top systems, requiring no tailored equipment, no custom design of the test system itself, and no capital investment.  Lab technicians upload the multi-marker panel testing results to the IR2Dx proprietary web portal to access the company’s decision support tool analysis product. In the initial commercialization phase, each laboratory will have a specific customized software product, and will pay for each report on a per-use basis. 

In the current U.S. regulatory environment for such products, with “health management IT functionalities”, such as the IR2Dx analysis and reporting system, near-term requirements for premarket review are unlikely, though the FDA may give additional guidance at any time. The IR2Dx platform is protected by a strong and broad intellectual property portfolio combining substantial data and know-how with issued patents in the U.S. and Europe. The company’s issued patents carry claims for use of its analysis platform and combination of markers for treatment guidance “with all glucose lowering drugs.”

 The company anticipates launch of the proprietary IR2Dx platform in H1 2015, introducing its first clinical decision support products through commercial laboratories. 

Tania Fernandez is the founder of Dream Catcher Ventures, an advisory firm founded to address the inefficiencies in the marketplace and to align the goals and aspirations of entrepreneurs with investors in the healthcare/biotech sector. It is focused on creating and building disruptive biotech/healthcare companies that are positioned to excel in global markets. The firm also has a strong focus on biotech companies that have assets/technologies that are relevant to the Indian market.

Dr. Fernandez is currently working with BioHealth Innovation on a $50M “Gap Fund” to invest in seed and early stage healthcare/biotech companies primarily in therapeutics, diagnostics, medtech and healthcare IT.

Tania has a doctorate in molecular oncology and a post doctorate in protein chemistry and genetic engineering. She has over fifteen years of experience in the life sciences and 10 years of venture capital investing experience in biotech/ life sciences/healthcare and healthcare delivery.

ALIAD is the venture capital subsidiary of the Air Liquide Group (L'Air Liquide S.A.), one of the largest multinational providers of industrial and medical gases and related activities, headquartered in Paris, France. The healthcare division of the Air Liquide Group has been playing a significant role in healthcare with over €2 billion in revenue. 
ALIAD aims to promote the Group’s growth and access to innovations through taking minority stakes in innovative technology start-ups outside the Group. ALIAD can lead or co-invest with other investors. Typical allocations are made in equity and range from €1-10 million. ALIAD is currently seeking new opportunities across a wide geography, including Western Europe, North and South America and Asia.

Life Science Nation (LSN) is the premier sourcing platform for market intelligence and prospect pipeline development in the life science arena. LSN enables life science professionals to generate a list of qualified global targets that are a fit for their company’s products, services, and fundraising efforts. The ability to generate these Global Target Lists (GTLs) makes life science professionals more effective and efficient. 

Focus:  Many hepatitis B and C patients fall into difficult-to-treat categories due to more complicated liver disease and poorer responses to treatment.  One major group is coinfected patients (HCV/HIV-1 or HCV/HBV), who are more prone to develop end stage liver disease and liver cancer than monoinfected patients.  Patients with cirrhosis represent a second major group. Cyclophilin inhibitors, having broad-spectrum antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fibrotic activities are excellent candidate medicine for these difficult-to-treat  patients.