Humabs BioMed SA Switzerland

Humabs BioMed is a profitable Swiss biotech company that is discovering and developing nature-selected human monoclonal antibodies using proprietary platforms. 

Humabs is currently focusing on the development of human antibodies to fight infectious diseases. Additional indications are being targeted at the discovery research stage.

Humabs has already achieved four major licensing deals with Pharmaceutical companies generating significant revenues in the form of near term revenues, as well as a stream of longer term milestones and royalties. Two of these programs are in clinical development phases.

Humabs is seeking additional investments to allow the company to bring selected programs into clinical research on its own, thus significantly increasing the added value.

Website:
www.humabs.com
Year Founded
2010
Biotech Subsector
Biotech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
Unique technology platform and know how allowing selection of monoclonal antibodies generated from immortalized human memory B cells, plasma cells or naïve B cells. Specialized in identifying, isolating, characterizing and producing the best fully human antibodies from the best human responders (antibodies of winners). Focused on infectious diseases, in which there is an acute need for new products. Additional indications include inflammatory diseases and cancer.
Alliance & Collaborations
With global Pharma companies
Current Financing Needs
Humabs is seeking additional investments to allow the company to bring selected programs forward to the more advanced drug development stages of clinical research, thus significantly increasing the added value.
Current Investors
Private
IP Status
Granted patents on technology and granted patents + applications on mAb products
Dr Alcide Barberis
Dr Alcide Barberis
LinkedIn logo President & CEO 

Iliad Ventures

Iliad Ventures is a private investment firm funded entirely by its partners that is based in New York City. The firm is looking to make equity investment into early and mid-stage life science companies ranging from $5 to 2 million initially. The firm looks to get involved in Seed and Series A Rounds. The firm could make as many as 6 investments over the next 12 months and looks to invest in companies located throughout the United States Europe and Israel.
Steve Tsetsekos
General Partner 

Immunova LLC United States

Immunova is a startup with  an IP portfolio licensed from Yale and the Johns Hopkins Universities.

Immunova's technology platform has a unique capability to deliver one or more drugs to the tumor/disease microenvironment. The drugs can be proteins, small molecules or nucleic acids. The delivery platfrom has demonstatable advantages over other delivery systems. The technology has applications in oncology and inflammation.

The company's lead asset is positioned in oncology. IMM-01, consists of two drugs that (a) undermine the tumor micorenvironment and (b) increase anti-tumor cell mediated immunity. This asset is capable of curing mice of metastatic disease. Further, it significantly enhances the activites of immune checkpoint inhibitors. It is non toxic.

The company is seeking investment and R&D partners. Immunova has defined the path to a Phase I/IIa multidose trial which could initiate within 15 months of funding. Immunova is also seeking partners who wish to validate this platform in oncology and inflammation.

Website:
www.immunova.net
Year Founded
2011
Biotech Subsector
Biotech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
Immunova’s platform enables effective drug combination therapy. Chemically diverse drugs such as biologics and small molecules can be formulated and encapsulated in a liposome and thereby delivered systemically to a target cell or environment where each encapsulated API can be released independently in a controlled or tuneable manner using our proprietary technology. Importantly, this approach also potentiates existing or novel therapies often increasing their therapeutic index. LipoGel-TR is a hybrid platform of liposomes and PLGA nanoparticle delivery systems designed to possess the positive features of each platform while minimizing the negative aspects. Many of the building blocks required to make a LipoGel can be bought preassembled and GMP from third party providers thus shortening development timelines. We have demonstrated the superiority of LipoGels in numerous in vitro assays (drug loading and release and potency) and animal models of disease (efficacy and survival). Using our technology we have demonstrated that we can (a) direct one or more drugs to the TME, (b) increase drug synergies, efficacy and potency of chemo and immunotherapies, (c) decrease drug toxicity, (d) increase immune cell activity and (e) generate new intellectual property.
Alliance & Collaborations
The company is actively seeking partners in oncology and inflammation.
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
The technology has been published in high profile journals and the founder actively collaborates with numerous scientists at leading institutions. The Company’s initial focus is cancer immunotherapy: delivery of molecules that modulate immunity, positively and negatively, in order to undermine the tumor microenvironment and allow the immune system to keep pace with tumor evolution and thus be primed to eradicate disease. Our lead asset, IMM01: • Is targeted to and accumulates in tumors; • Encapsulated APIs are slowly released over 7 days and this can be further modulated; • Dramatically increases potency and efficacy: in a murine model of metastatic disease, IV delivery of IMM-01 results in 85% survival of IMM-01-treated mice at day 60 whereas all untreated mice, as well as mice treated with the drugs in solution, have died by day 30; • Increases immune infiltrate within the tumor which correlates with good patient outcomes • Significantly increases the potency of anti-PD1 and anti-CTLA4 mAb therapy in a mouse model of metastatic disease supporting published MoA studies • Is not toxic; there are no signs of renal, hepatic, bronchial, RBC or leukocyte toxicity when IMM-01 is administered to mice at high doses.
Current Financing Needs
Immunova is seeking $8-10M to fund operations for three years and including a phase I/IIa clinical trial
Current Timeline
Pending financing, IMM-01 is ca 15 months from a Phase I/IIa clinical trial
Current Investors
Angel-backed to date
IP Status
The company has licensed 4 granted and 3 pending patents
Recent Milestones
Q3 2014 • Demonstration of synergy with checkpoint inhibitors • New patent filed • Patent granted • Academic founder noted as a bioentrepreneur to watch by Nature Biotechnology Q4 2014 • First phase technology transfer to CMO • Identified lead clinical trial site and PI • Determined drug needs for clinical trial • Regulator engaged for ‘preIND meeting’
Management Team Highlights
The Company has recruited an impressive team that has an established and successful record of building companies. The management, advisors and scientific founders have an established network of both pharmaceutical and medical contacts and extensive experience running biotechnology firms and executing clinical trials. For reference, the following biotech startups founded/managed/invested in by Immunova Management or Advisors, were acquired prior to FDA approval: • Neurovir Therapeutics, Inc. – Acquired by MediGene AG for $42M • Nurel Therapeutics – acquired by DyaMid AB (undisclosed) • Proximagen plc. – Acquired by Upsher Smith for $550M • PharmaGenics Inc. – acquired by Genzyme for $28M • Prostagen– acquired by Cytogen (undisclosed)
Brian Horsburgh

InterWest Partners

InterWest Partners founded in 1979 is a venture capital firm based in Menlo Park California. The firm?s primary focus is providing venture capital to early-stage healthcare and information technology companies. The firm has raised 1 funds to date with over $2.8 billion in committed capital. The firm?s tenth fund closed in 29 at $65 million. The firm generally invests in the Series A and B rounds, initially allocating $8-12 million and up to $2 million over the life of the investment. The firm primarily invests in US-based companies but will also selectively consider opportunities abroad. The firm is actively seeking new investment opportunities.
Doug Fisher
Partner 

Kineta United States

Kineta® is a nationally-recognized biotechnology company focused on developing leading edge therapeutics in three large high need therapeutic areas: autoimmune disease, viral disease and chronic pain. Our company is focused on the development of novel drug candidates each the outcome of years of scientific exploration and supported by an extensive body of peer-reviewed NIH-supported research.

Biotech Phase of Development
Technology Overview

Kineta® is developing a pipeline of next-generation medicines to respond to the needs of millions of people facing diseases around the world. Our scientific areas of expertise are immunology and neuropathic pain with research directed at curbing inflammation and returning the immune system to normal function. Kineta has five unique drug programs in development and each program represents a novel mechanism-of-action and has potential to result in a new class of drug. The innovative portfolio is derived from leading edge scientific research that taps into promising recently discovered cellular channels that control the body's defense mechanisms. Kineta’s drug programs are designed to enhance or modulate the natural human immune system and show great potential to be more effective, more tolerable and confer fewer side effects than existing drugs. We anticipate our products will be highly sought after by patients, healthcare providers and the pharmaceutical industry.

Alliance & Collaborations
27 Scientific and academic collaborations
Current Financing Needs

Series B round of $5M with follow on series C for an additional $20M.

Current Timeline

Autoimmune drug successfully completed phase I clinical trials and is currently in a phase 1B extension study to be completed 1st quarter.  In discussions with numerous large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies around a licensing transaction.

Antiviral and pain programs are currently in pre-clinical development with high industry interest.  We are in significant partnering discussions around several of our anti-viral drug candidates.

Current Investors

We have raised $36M since 2008.  This has been augmented with an additional $52M in NIH funding.

Our current investors are accredited investors, high net worth individuals, Family Offices, a boutique PE group and the Iacocca Foundation.

IP Status
  Protected Pipeline Secured with a
Valuable IP Portfolio ØStrong IP across each development program ØProprietary expertise in innate immunity & autoimmunity Ø27 Patent Families (28 owned, 6 in-licensed) •45 Issued Patents •154 Pending country applications •7 Pre-nationalized PCT or provisional families
Management Team Highlights

Chuck Magness, PhD

CEO

Human Genome Project; Co-founded & Sold Illumigen Biosciences ($17M + 321M); Kineta Enterprise >$60M

Shawn Iadonato, PhD

CSO

Human Genome Project; Illumigen Biosciences; Grew 5 Kineta Programs; 1st Kv1.3 in Clinic; >$35M  R&D Funds

Craig Philips, MBA

Commercial Operations

 VP & GM, Schering Plough, VP & GM, Bayer, President & GM CTI

Blake Ilstrup, JD

General Counsel /

Corporate Dev.

Hundreds of transactions with Cooley and Venture Law Group, General Counsel of Qpass, 6 Kineta transactions

Rob Hedequist

Corporate Development

Major Accounts, Managed Care & Sales/ Marketing Pfizer and Amgen; National Director Schering–Plough

Dan Eramian

Corporate Communications

First VP of communications for Biotech Industry Organization; US DOJ Director of Public Affairs; SBA

Ken North

Corporate Development

Founding CEO Seattle Savings Bank; Past president Seattle Kiwanis, Chamber of Commerce; Seafair Commodores

Dan Burge, MD

Clinical

Trubion (CMO), VP Early Development Immunex, Amgen (early development on Enbrel)

Jeff Fellows

Regulatory

Global Regulatory Lead Amgen,  VP Regulatory Alder, VP Regulatory CTI,  First Kv1.3 in clinic, Sensipar Amgen

Mr Rob Hedequist
Senior Vice President Corporate Development 
Blake Ilstrup
Jacques Bouchy

Life Science Angels

Life Science Angels Inc was founded in 2004 and is based in Sunnyvale CA. The group makes early-stage equity investments in a wide range of life science companies. Life Science Angels invests primarily in California but is open to investing out of state provided a round is being syndicated with a local angel group. Life Science Angels does not rule out investing outside the USA but has yet to do so. The group invests as individuals and allocation sizes are therefore highly varied but are usually of about $2-$6, Life Science Angels usually invests in rounds seeking $3 million or less. The group is interested in syndicating rounds with other angel groups.

Investor Type
Biotech Phase of Development
Medtech Phase of Development
Capital Structure Preference
Investment Stage Preference
Dr Faz Bashi
Chair Digital Health & Sciences 
Karl Handelsman
Founder & Chairman 
Allan May
Founder 

Life Science Equity Partners

Life Science Equity Partners is a private equity firm based in Palo Alto California. The firm is solely focused on life science investments. The firm will invest in companies at all stages including early-stage companies with products still in development and late-stage companies with revenue. The firm typically makes early stage investments with a 1 year exit strategy in mind. The investment size is highly variable depending on the stage of the company. The firm has the ability to invest globally with typical allocations made to companies in North America. The firm is actively seeking new investment opportunities.
Michael Bianco
General Partner 

Life Science Nation

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. 

Biotech Phase of Development
Medtech Phase of Development
Unique Capabilities

Life Science Investor Profiles, LSN has sourced validated and maintains the largest global database of investor profiles. LSN defined 10 categories of Life Science Investor;

·         Private Equity

·         Venture capital

·         Family Offices

·         Corporate VC

·         Angel Groups

·         Large Pharma/ Biotech

·         Alternative Institutional Investors: Pensions, Endowments

·         Endowments/Foundations

·         Hedge Funds

·         Government Grants

Marketing Services, LSN consults on branding, messaging, and outbound marketing strategies. This includes developing a tagline, elevator pitch, executive summary, corporate power point presentation, and new or updated website design to fit your brand and message. LSN will develop a Global Target List of prequalified candidates to target for marketing initiatives.

Alejandro Zamorano
Tom Crosby
David Mejia
Gwen Lamar
Danielle Silva
Jack Fuller
Marlo Galvez
Laura Chess
Dennis Ford
BIO

Dennis is the founder and CEO of Life Science Nation (LSN) and creator of the Redefining Early Stage Investment (RESI) conference series. Most recently, he launched a broker-dealer entity called Boston Innovation Capital (BIC).

Dennis’s expertise is in creating and facilitating interactive dialogue between buyers and sellers. He is a big proponent of using profiling and matching technology to find that all-important business fit in the marketing and selling process. LSN provides a Match.com-like platform of product and services for scientist/entrepreneurs and early stage investors to connect with each other.

Dennis is the author of The Peddler’s Prerogative, The Fund Manager’s Marketing Manifesto, and most recently, The Life Science Executive’s Fundraising Manifesto. Dennis is an expert in sales, marketing, and business development. Dennis has distinct value in understanding the world of global alternative life science investors and how that relates to financing early stage technologies.

Lilly Asia Ventures China

Lilly Asia Ventures is the venture capital arm of Eli Lilly that focuses on investments in the life sciences in Asia, particularly China. The firm was established in 2008 and is based in Shanghai, China. The firm is stage agnostic; investing in early, growth, and up to pre-IPO opportunities. The firm’s investment size is USD 5-20 million per company. The firm primarily invests in companies in China, but is open to companies across Asia-Pacific as long as there is some sort of China angle. The firm is actively seeking new investment opportunities.

Lilly Asia Ventures primarily focuses on therapeutics but is also interested in medical devices, diagnostics, animal health, and biotech other. The firm is most interested in products that will have a significant impact on medical care in China. For therapeutics, the firm seeks best-in-class or first-in-class products. The firm is opportunistic to the indication and the phase of development and will consider products in pre-clinical up to NDA. Historically, the firm invests in therapeutics for oncology, inflammatory diseases, and metabolic disorders.

Biotech Phase of Development
Medtech Phase of Development
Capital Structure Preference
Investment Stage Preference
Judith Li
Principal 
Michael Zhang
Investment Manager 

Longitude Capital United States

Longitude Capital is a private equity group founded in 2006 with offices in Menlo Park, California and Greenwich, Connecticut. The firm has $700 million in assets and has raised two funds, with the most recent fund closing at $385m in 2012. Longitude makes both venture-stage and growth-stage equity investments, which are typically in the $10-30 million range. Longitude Capital primarily invests in North America and the European Union but may also consider opportunities in the Middle East.

Year Founded
2006
Investor Type
Biotech Phase of Development
Medtech Phase of Development
Capital Structure Preference
Investment Stage Preference
Mark Chin