Dr Yash Sabharwal
Xeris is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing patient-friendly injectable drugs for various indications with an initial focus on diabetes. The current paradigm for many injectable drugs is to design formulations for delivery in water-based systems. However, the presence of water is problematic because it actively degrades many molecules often preventing drug products from being packaged for use as a “ready-to-use” solution. Xeris' patented and patent-pending XeriSol™ and XeriJect™ formulation technologies are transformative in their elimination of water. By replacing water with non-water, bio-compatible carriers already used in other FDA-approved drugs, Xeris solves a number of problems adding significant value to existing injectable drugs and to new drugs in development. This technology is already being validated with the development of a non-aqueous glucagon formulation that has shown 24 months of room-temperature stability in solution and very positive safety and efficacy in a Phase 2 clinical study. While this product and other glucagon products are being developed and $20M has been raised to support this development, Xeris is seeking to spinoff its earlier stage non-glucagon assets and obtain funding (both equity and non-dilutive) to support these projects. More specifically, these projects include the development of a non-aqueous, auto-injectable diazepam to replace the current diazepam rectal gel for treatment of epileptic seizures and a non-aqueous, intradermal auto-injectable epinephrine to replace the current, antiquated EpiPen.
Akhil Saklecha
Artiman Ventures
Managing DirectorPhilip Sanger
TEXO Ventures is a healthcare venture capital firm that was founded in 29 and is based in Austin Texas. The firm operates as a hybrid of angel and venture capital. The recent fund closed at $15.4 million in 212. The firm focuses on making equity investments in the Medical Technology and Healthcare IT spaces at near commercialization or early commercialization stage. The firm typically invests ranging from $3 million to $5 million into a company. The firm plans to make 2-3 investments over the next 6-9 month. TEXO Ventures is open to consider companies across the US. The firm primarily focuses on healthcare which includes Health IT Technology enabled Health Services Chronic Disease Management Managed Care and Benefit Design. Although medical devices and functional diagnostics are considered for investment purposes Texo Ventures must see a clear regulatory pathway and obvious synergies with healthcare reform within a company. The firm's current investment portfolio includes companies in the area of medical technology. Within this field they are in areas such as diagnostic and therapeutic radiation devices electro mechanical medical devices re-usable instruments biomaterials and non-active implantable.
Texo Ventures
Managing PartnerRoman Schenk
RECARDIO is a virtual, private, clinical stage life science company founded in 2011 focusing on drug based regenerative therapeutic modalities for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
The company started product development mid-stage by taking advantage of >$100m of previously invested capital in the licensed lead compound, Dutogliptin. Safety has been established in more than 1000 subjects and all non-clinical studies have been completed to the highest standards, including 2 year carcinogenicity, resulting in a de-risked clinical development program from the safety perspective and overall reduction in total program costs.
After completion of limited preclinical studies clinical trials will commence in early 2015 in patients with acute myocardial infarction.
After establishing proof-of-principle in vivo and completion of the preclinical development, it has entered clinical stage and is developing multiple therapeutic leads as the future regenerative medication for patients with various cardiovascular diseases, with the potential of improving their cardiac function, quality of life and survival.
Recardio
CEOMatthew Scholz
Immusoft’s mission is to develop a breakthrough platform for delivering targeted medicines — programming a patient’s own cells to become miniature drug factories.
Our technology instructs a patient's cells to constantly secrete gene-encoded medicines (biologics). It will enable new treatments by solving current delivery limitations and production challenges. We are initially targeting orphaned diseases.
Immusoft’s platform can program cells to continually produce and secrete therapeutic proteins and rare antibodies that have been impossible to elicit with a vaccine. This approach makes possible treatments that are otherwise impractical due to short halflife, injection site reactions, production challenges or a small market size. It offers many of the benefits of traditional approaches and modern gene therapies with less risk and greater control.
Immusoft has received grants from the National Institutes of Health and Peter Thiel's Breakout Labs as well as support from private investors, including the former head of preclinical development at Seattle Genetics. We have an exclusive license option on our core technology from Caltech and have filed two additional patents covering our extensive modifications to the technology.
ISP technology could replace a lifetime of infusions with a patient’s own drug-producing cells.