Peter Heinecke United States

Xalud Therapeutics is developing novel, non-opioid therapies for the treatment of neuropathic pain and osteoarthritis. Our lead product, XT-101, has shown exceptional efficacy in the leading rodent models of pain and in canine patients with neuropathic pain and osteoarthritis. XT-101 has an excellent safety profile -- it does not cause sedation, dizziness, numbness, addiction or tolerance.  7 and 28 day GLP toxicology studies have been completed with excellent results.  Xalud intends to file an IND for a Phase I/IIa trial in mid-2015 and, pending funding, initiate clinical trials thereafter.

Xalud's approach to treating pain is fundamentally different than conventional approaches. XT-101 causes the body to produce the natural anti-inflammatory IL-10.  In neuropathic pain, the use of this broad spectrum anti-inflammatory reduces inflammation around the spinal cord and reduces aberant pain signaling.  In gold-standard rodent models, a single injection of XT-101 completely eliminates neuropathic pain for 12 weeks.  We have also tested XT-101 in canine patients with severe osteoarthritis that has been resistant to standard treatments.  In these patients, XT-101 has provided long lasting pain relief resulting in dramatically increased mobility and activity levels and increased joint flexibility.

To date, Xalud's efforts have been supported by over $6 million of grant funding from the NIH, the DOD, and disease foundations.  We seek to raise $6 to $10 Million to fund our initial clinical trial or trials.  These will be placebo controlled Phase I/IIa trials in actual patients.  Because XT-101 has an extended duration, we expect that these trials will provide the safety, efficacy and biomarker data necessary to support a robust Phase II program.

Year Founded
2009
Biotech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
XT-101 is a proprietary plasmid DNA encoding for the natural, broad spectrum anti-inflammatory IL-10
Alliance & Collaborations
Xalud has received extensive support from the NIH and the DOD
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
In leading models of pain, a single administration completely reverses neuropathic pain for 12 weeks. Similar results have been observed in canine patients with osteoarthritis and neuropathic pain.
Current Financing Needs
$6MM to $10MM
Current Timeline
An IND for a Phase I/IIa trial will be filed in mid-2015.
Current Investors
Xalud is entirely grant funded and has raised over $6 MM in non-dilutive financing.
IP Status
Broad patent coverage and freedom to operate have been established
Recent Milestones
In late 2014, 7 and 28 day GLP toxicology studies were completed with excellent results.
Management Team Highlights
The Management team has substantial experience leading early stage biotech companies. Dr. Steve Collins, Xalud's Executive Chairman, has extensive experience managing biopharmaceutical companies and leading pain and CNS drug development efforts. He served as Senior Director for Global CNS and Pain at Johnson and Johnson and Chief Scientific Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs at Ovation Pharmaceuticals (acquired by Lundbeck for approximately $963 MM). Most recently he served as Chief Executive Officer of NeuroTherapeutics Pharma, Inc., a venture-backed biotechnology company developing treatments for pain and epilepsy.
Xalud Therapeutics, Inc.
Chief Business Officer 

James Helliwell

Eupraxia Pharmaceuticals Inc.
President & CEO 

Luke Helm United States

Rapid Development of Injection Molded Medical Devices
From Concept Through Transfer-to-Manufacturing

Symbient specializes in engineering research and development, prototyping and design-for-manufacturing of innovative medical devices that use injection molded components. Our highly experienced team consists of mechanical and biomedical engineers, industrial designers, machinists and molding technicians. They leverage our in-house rapid prototyping, and prototype tooling fabrication and injection molding to create proven, manufacturable designs with unmatched speed, efficiency and precision. These designs make up our deep portfolio of over 300 successful devices that have collectively generated hundreds of millions of dollars. They include FDA Class I, II and III devices, developed under our ISO 13485 certified quality management system.

 

Our Services Include:

  • Concept Development
  • Development Engineering
  • Design-for-Manufacturing
  • Industrial Design
  • Project Rescue
  • Design Control per IOS 13485
  • Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
  • Design Verification Testing
  • Test Method Development
  • Transfer to Manufacturing

 

Our In-House Capabilities and Expertise Include:

  • Stereolithography (SLA) Prototyping
  • CNC Machining / Fabrication
  • Prototype Mold Fabrication
  • Prototype Injection Molding of Devices for Testing, Trials and Studies
  • Liquid Injection Molded (LIM) Silicone Prototype Molding
  • Product Reliability Testing
  • Plastics Assembly Expertise: Ultrasonic and Laser Welding, Heat Sealing, Pressure Sensitive Adhesives, Swaging, Snap Fits, Press Fits, Interlocks.
  • Speed: Prototype Molds in as little as 1 week and Modifications in as little as 1 Day
  • Material Selection Expertise, Research and Testing to Ensure All Product Requirements Are Met.

 

Our Portfolio Includes:

  • Diagnostics / Molecular Diagnostics
  • Sample collection / preparation
  • Life Sciences / Microfluidics
  • OTC Consumer products
  • Respiratory
  • Surgical devices and clinical tools
  • Drug Delivery

 

Year Founded
2004
Unique Capabilities

Our Services Include:

  • Concept Development
  • Development Engineering
  • Design-for-Manufacturing
  • Industrial Design
  • Project Rescue
  • Design Control per IOS 13485
  • Finite Element Analysis (FEA)
  • Design Verification Testing
  • Test Method Development
  • Transfer to Manufacturing

 

Our In-House Capabilities and Expertise Include:

  • Stereolithography (SLA) Prototyping
  • CNC Machining / Fabrication
  • Prototype Mold Fabrication
  • Prototype Injection Molding of Devices for Testing, Trials and Studies
  • Liquid Injection Molded (LIM) Silicone Prototype Molding
  • Product Reliability Testing
  • Plastics Assembly Expertise: Ultrasonic and Laser Welding, Heat Sealing, Pressure Sensitive Adhesives, Swaging, Snap Fits, Press Fits, Interlocks.
  • Speed: Prototype Molds in as little as 1 week and Modifications in as little as 1 Day
  • Material Selection Expertise, Research and Testing to Ensure All Product Requirements Are Met.
Symbient Product Development
Director of Business Development 

Hannah Hensel United States

Brio Device, LLC is a medical device company and spin-out of the University of Michigan Medical Innovation Center based in Ann Arbor, MI. Brio develops airway management devices and intubation instruments.

PROBLEM: High Intubation Failure  

There are 20M+ intubations performed in the US every year. Depending on setting and skill of the clinician, failure rates range from 2% - 40% resulting in approximately 2,000,000 intubation failures every year. Intubation, the procedure to insert a plastic tube into the trachea, requires significant expertise and experience to do well.  With current products in the market, the tube often is inserted multiple times before it is properly placed, resulting in damage to the patient such as broken teeth, torn vocal cords, or insertion into the stomach leading to aspiration and pneumonia.  Three main factors affect intubation success rates: the user’s experience level, having directional control of the tube during insertion, and continuous visualization appreciated in bronchoscopes.  Clinicians need a single go-to device which is appropriate for use both in routine intubation and difficult airway cases offering guidance, maneuverability and visualization necessary to be successful. Failed intubation is the most common preventable cause of trauma-related deaths.  Approximately 180,000 deaths per year list complications associated with failed intubation.

SOLUTION: Brio’s Articulating & Video Stylets  

Brio is introducing a suite of products intended to improve intubation success rates for planned and emergent intubations, minimizing reliance on clinician skill for success.  The products range from disposable mechanical devices to devices with imbedded software providing anatomic image recognition guidance for the clinician. The devices have three critical elements to assist users in locating the trachea and maneuvering the endotracheal tube. 

1. Articulating tip with thumb-controlled steering

2. Continuous visualization

3. Visual guidance software 

BUSINESS MODEL

Brio’s core competencies are R&D, product development, sales and marketing of medical devices.  Projections are built on three revenue streams: two disposable stylets (one with and one without a camera) and a reusable video display.   Brio has an agreement with a manufacturing partner to facilitate design history files, regulatory compliance, manufacturing and customer service.

FUNDING  & MILESTONES

Brio has received $815,000 funding, including $690K in non-dilutive grants and $125k in convertible notes.  The Company has received Small Business Investigational Research (SBIR) Grants from the NIH.  

Year Founded
2011
Main Sector
Indication
Medtech Phase of Development
Technology Overview

Brio suite of devices for intubation. The products are used to insert endotracheal tubes and are designed for first-attempt intubation success.

Key Features

  • Software algorithm recognizes anatomical landmarks and displays labels on video screen
  • Software displays optimal position of sytlet tip with a white “x” as the stylet advances through the airway
  • Visualization of the tip
  • Tip articulation

 

Benefits

  • Software enhanced visualization
  • Visually confirm success
  • Reduces time to intubate
  • Reduces tissue trauma

Alliance & Collaborations
Brio has its primary office and lab space within the medical device incubator and business accelerator facilities of MC3, Inc. The Company is considered a “Member” of MC3’s Medical Device Business Accelerator. Address: MC3, Inc. 3550 West Liberty, Suite 3, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103. Manufacturing Partner Brio has an agreement with Summit Medical Products, Inc. based in Sandy, UT. The contract provides Brio with a team of experienced professionals from engineering, manufacturing, regulatory affairs, marketing and sales. Summit is engaged in the business of and possesses expertise with respect to, among other things, the manufacturing, assembling, processing, packaging, approvals and regulatory processes, and sales of medical devices. The strategic partnership Brio has with Summit is to assist in product design and development, process validation, risk management procedures, manufacturing, verification and validation, and quality assurance for the intubation device.
Supporting Metrics or Evidence

There are 20M+ intubations performed in the US every year. Depending on setting and skill of the clinician, failure rates range from 2% - 40% resulting in approximately 2,000,000 intubation failures every year.

Current Financing Needs

Current Financing Round: $1.5M ... Anticipated total paid-in-capital: $4.0M

Current Timeline

Completing design for manufacturing and pilot manufacturing. First generation product, FDA Class I exempt, enters the market in Q2 2015. Follow-on products to enter the market starting Q3 2016.

Current Investors

Convertible Notes: State of Michigan University Commercialization Fund, MC3, Inc., and Summit Medical

IP Status

PCT/US12/36290 submitted May, 2012. National Phase Patent Application Ser. No. 14/115,196 - Filed: Nov. 1, 2013.

Recent Milestones

Prototypes tested by groups of clinicians ranging from Residents to experienced specialists in simulation mannequins. First generation product being converted from 3D prototype to design for manufacturing and pilot manufacturing.

Management Team Highlights

Hannah Hensel, CEO, holds an MBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and has 20+ years business leadership experience. A unique start-up experience for her took place as Sponsorship Sales & Marketing Manager for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games where she reported to Mitt Romney; the organization went from $0 to $1.5B in seven years. Product development for Brio is led by Laura McCormick, PhD in biomedical engineering, Douglas Mullen, PhD in nanotechnology/materials science and Sabina Siddiqui, MD. Brio's Commercialization Officer, Rich Borncamp, is the newest member of the team. He has spent his career launching new medical devices, establishing go-to-market plans nationally and internationally, and negotiating agreements with Group Purchasing Organizations.

Brio Device, LLC
CEO 

Amir Heshmatpour

AFH Holding & Advisory LLC is a boutique investment banking firm that offers financial advisory services. The firm focuses on alternative public offerings marketing strategy planning capital structuring and mergers and acquisitions advisory. Its clientele include Carlisi Natural Gas Inc. Fossil Energy Group LLC Kaikai Technology Co. Ltd. and Yi Xin Copper Co. Ltd. AFH Holding & Advisory LLC is based in Beverly Hills California with an additional office in Pudong China.
AFH Holding & Advisory
Founder & Managing Director 

Julia Hill Australia

Bionic Vision Technologies is the commercial entity which holds license to the patents around technology developed by Bionic Vision Australia.

Bionic Vision Australia brings together Australia’s leading experts in medical bionics to develop a bionic eye to restore vision to people with retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration.  A prototype device has been successfully implanted into three patients for two years demonstrating outstanding safety and efficacy. 

Our capabilities which  differentiate us from competitors include:

  1. Novel surgical techniques providing greater safety and stability od wide view devices

  2. World leading, pioneering vision processing software

  3. Unique arrangement and stimulation strategies of the electrodes

  4. Unique diamond electrode encapsulation for the high acuity device

  5. World leading psychophysics laboratory for assessing functionality of the devices

  6. Unprecedented expertise and proven track record in preclinical studies

Our development portfolio consists of  wide view devices which aim to increase mobility and independence of patients and a high acuity device which will allow patients the ability to read large letters and recognise faces

Year Founded
2011
Main Sector
Medtech Phase of Development
IP Status
7 granted patents, 45 patent applications
Recent Milestones
Completed successful pilot clinical trial
Bionic Vision Technologies

Johanna Holldack Switzerland

Telormedix is a Swiss biotech company focused on small molecules binding to TLR7 for the development in oncology and infectious diseases.
Telormedix SA
CEO 

Chris Hollowood United Kingdom

Syncona Partners, founded in 2012, is an evergreen investment firm based in London, UK. The firm is an independent subsidiary of the Wellcome Trust who invested the initial £200m capitalization. The firm is mandated to invest in companies with the potential to make major breakthroughs in healthcare. The investment size will usually range from £1M – £20M per company. The firm seeks to create sustainable, profitable businesses, to support them with capital over the long term, for the benefit of patients, and to hold an ownership position to create value for the Wellcome Trust. The firm is actively screening new investment opportunities.

Year Founded
2012
Biotech Phase of Development
Medtech Phase of Development
Capital Structure Preference
Investment Stage Preference
Syncona Partners
Partner 

Ken Hoober

Website:
www.susavion.com
Susavion Biosciences Inc.
CSO 

Carl Horn

 

JBI is a Midwest-based biotechnology company driven to develop a new class of therapies to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. 

JBI’s unique approach is able to lower the production of Amyloid Beta (Aβ), phosphorylated Tau (pTau) and toxic intracellular Aβ aggregates.  Our passion is to develop a therapy to restore the patient’s lifespan and improve patient quality of life.

JBI is focused on further developing its lead compound, JBI-009, based on the strength of compelling preclinical safety and efficacy results to date.

JBI’s approach represents a new wave in thinking about the treatment of AD.  Currently available drugs treat disease symptoms, rather than its suspected cause, and do so with limited success.  Most drugs in late-stage clinical development are attempting to address a likely cause of the disease, the accumulation of Aβ, by potently inhibiting the enzyme responsible for Aβ production.  As this enzyme has other important biological functions, this approach has seen early failures because of unacceptable side effects.  JBI's approach is unique in that it modulates the production of this enzyme rather than inhibits its activity.  JBI’s approach is expected to restore enzyme activity and Aβ production to normal levels with a favorable safety advantage.

JBI’s technology is also unique in that it targets cellular machinery within the Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER).  Most drug developers have focused on modifying activity that occurs either on the cell membrane or within the cell nucleus or cytosol.  JBI is one of the first, if not the first, to successfully target activity within the ER.  The discoveries employed by JBI have produced a lead compound that affects the enzyme responsible for controlling the rate-limiting step in Aβ production, penetrates the blood brain barrier, and shows no toxicity in IND feasibility safety studies.  In addition, work has begun on next generation compounds.  This ER-focused approach provides platform potential for future therapies to treat additional significant unmet medical needs.

 


Website:
jacebio.com
Year Founded
2014
Biotech Subsector
Biotech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
JBI-009 is a small molecule with an excellent safety profile to date. The anticipated indication is for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in Prodromal (pre-symptomatic) and mild cognitively impaired patients. JBI-009 is expected to lower Aβ, BACE1, and phosphorylated Tau. JBI-009 is anticipated to have once-daily oral dosing for chronic use and has shown effective penetration through the blood brain barrier. The compound has a low manufacturing cost due to its simple chemical structure.
Current Financing Needs
JBI is a Seed stage company seeking $2.0mm of initial investment to advance IND feasibility research on its lead compound.
IP Status
Patent applications have been filed and are under prosecution, providing exclusivity into 2032.
Management Team Highlights
Carl Horn, Founder, CEO: Mr. Horn is a business leader with over 25 years of pharmaceutical and diagnostics industry experience at Abbott Laboratories, Takeda, TAP Pharmaceuticals and Chicago-based Therapeutic Proteins. His experience includes general management, business development, and strategic marketing within these companies. Deborah Milkowski, PhD, Founder, CSO: Dr. Milkowski has more than 13 years of industry experience in senior roles at TAP Pharmaceuticals where she was the director of the Pharmacology and Technical Assessment organizations and oversaw the pharmacology sections of 10 IND and 4 NDA submissions, including approvals for Lupron Depot® and Uloric®.
Jace Biomedical, Inc.
CEO