Easton Capital United States

Easton Capital Investment Group is a venture capital firm based in New York. Easton Capital invests broadly in the life science sector, and considers investment opportunities globally. The firm is likely to make 4-6 allocations in the next 6 months. Allocations typically vary from $250,000 to $5 million, in the form of equity or convertible debt. Allocations are typically made at the venture stage of development, but may be made in seed rounds if a company already has proof of their product's efficacy.

Investor Type
Biotech Phase of Development
Medtech Phase of Development
Capital Structure Preference
Investment Stage Preference
Lisa Rhoads
Managing Director 

Enso Ventures United States

Enso Ventures is a Venture Capital firm that was founded in 2010 and based in London with an additional office in New York. The firm is looking to provide equity capital to high growth companies in the life science space. The firm is currently interested in companies located in Europe, Russia and the US and is looking to make approximately 2-3 investments over the next 6-9 months.

Sergei Petukhov
Partner 

Excel Venture Management United States

Excel Venture Management is a venture capital firm that was founded in 2008 and is based in Boston, Massachusetts. The firm has managed one fund with committed capital of $125 million, and the firm is currently raising the second fund. Excel Venture Management seeks to make equity investments into life science companies from early to late stages. The typical investment size ranges from $3 million to $ 5million. The firm plans to invest in 4-5 companies over the next 6-9 months and prefers to invest in companies based in US.

Year Founded
2008
Investor Type
Medtech Phase of Development
Capital Structure Preference
Investment Stage Preference
Eric Zimmerman
Kevin Liang

Flagship Ventures

Flagship Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2 and located in Cambridge MA. The firm has $9 million AUM. Flagship Ventures invests in therapeutics and in medical technology and makes initial allocation of typically $5-$5 million with the possibility of follow-on investments for a total commitment of up to $7 million-$15 million.
David Berry
Partner 

Formula Pharma United States

Formula Pharmaceuticals is a US-based oncology focused biotech company, developing Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) based therapies using a proprietary platform.

Formula's CAR therapies involve allogeneic immune effector cells and a NON-viral transfection method for highly efficient cell expansion and differentiation. Additionally, Formula's target effector cells primarily involve Cytokine Induced Killer cells, instead of T-cells or Natural Killer cells. These various characteristics offer distinct practical, clinical, regulatory and commercial benefits over other CAR approaches that involve autologous cells and viral transfection methods. Although not yet in clinical stage development, Formula believes that its CAR based development program will catch up with competing clinical-stage development programs, based on the significant CMC and regulatory advantages that Formula's CAR approach offers.

Formula is interested in meeting with investors and prospective pharmaceutical/biotech partners. Near-term value driving milestones (including clinical trial results) are expected within the next 2-3 years.

Significant industry and investor interest in CAR based therapies have been established over the past 12 months, with 4 leading industry players (Pfizer; Novartis; Celgene and Juno Therapeutics). Formula's CAR therapy is distinctive, and is believed to offer significant advantages of the aforementioned CAR technologies. CARs represent a new and important paradigm for cancer therapy, with the leading pharmaceutical players expected to acquire and develop their own position into this space.

Year Founded
2009
Biotech Subsector
Biotech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
Formula's lead program involves a distinctive approach for the development of Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) based therapies. Formula's proprietary platform involves allogeneic immune cells and NON-viral transfection for the develoment of CAR therapies, using primarily Cytokine Induced Cells (CIK), as opposed to T-cells and Natural Killer (NK) cells. The unique advantages of Formula's platform over existing autologous and viral-transfection based CAR approaches span across the CMC, regulatory and commercial spectrum. The CIK cells involved in Formula's CAR therapies have shown high therapeutic potency, WITHOUT the concommittant need for interleukins (e.g. IL-7, IL-12, IL-15). Formula's proprietary NON-viral gene transfection method leads to stable gene expression and offers efficient expansion and differentiation of the immune effector cells. Aside from offering desired therapeutic potency, the CIK cell-based CARs are believed to have a more favorable safety profile than T-cells, i.t.o. inducing cytokine storms and GvHD. CIK cells have demonstrated a longer in-vivo viability than NK cells. Complex purification processes, bead- or artificial cell facilitated optimization processes applicable to other CAR approaches can be circumvented with Formula's CMC process. Formula's CMC process and use of allogeneic CIK cells optimally facilitate scale up to commercial demand. Formula's use of the NON-viral vector based transfection method avoids the significant regulatory complexities that are associated with the viral vector based methods, which are typically used by other commercial developers of CAR based therapies. Lead indications initially involve different heme-oncology related targets.
Alliance & Collaborations
To be announced
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
Pre-clinical data package using Formula's CD123.CIK-CAR and CD19.CIK-CAR, along with clinical experience with unmanipulated CIK cells.
Current Financing Needs
To be discussed at conference
Current Timeline
GMP grade manufacturing process development ongoing. IND filing targeted within 12-18 months.
IP Status
Filed patents with broad and specific claims
Maurits Geerlings
CEO 

Fusion Pharma Canada

Fusion Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage company committed to developing next generation precision radiopharmaceuticals for the diagnosis and treatment of human cancers with unmet medical needs.  The Company’s lead product, FPX-01, combines an alpha radionuclide with the precise targeting of an antibody to cause selective cytotoxicity of tumor cells.  FPX-01 will be entering Phase 2 clinical development in H2, 2015.

Year Founded
2014
Biotech Phase of Development
Technology Overview
The FPX-01 program represents a true theranostic approach. By leveraging its expertise in radiochemistry and biology, and utilizing different isotopes, Fusion has produced variants of FPX-01 that act as either diagnostic or therapeutic agents. For human proof-of-concept, Fusion initiated a Phase I imaging trial in Canada. Using Iodine-124 as a probe, this trial was designed to confirm that FPX-01 binds and internalizes to solid tumors expressing the receptor target as determined through PET/CT imaging. Initial results from this trial demonstrate that FPX-01 can identify metastatic lesions not previously identified through other imaging techniques. These data corroborate previous preclinical in vivo data which indicated that the radioactivity-associated with FPX-01 accumulated within tumours over several days. Following the completion of the Phase 1 imaging trial and additional preclinical studies planned for H1 2015, Fusion will file an IND in H2 2015 that will be designed to achieve breakthrough status in NSCLC. For therapy, FPX-01 will be radiolabeled with an alpha-emitting isotope. Preclinical xenograph studies, using only a single administration of isotope demonstrated tumor regression, with minimal toxicity at any dose level. It is expected that the IND-opening trial will be a Phase I/II therapeutic study in approximately 100 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), addressing a major unmet medical need.
Alliance & Collaborations
Ontario Institute for Cancer Research
Supporting Metrics or Evidence
Clinical and pre-clinical data.
Current Financing Needs
Series A $15M
Current Timeline
H2 2015: Phase 2 IND
Current Investors
Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization
IP Status
The FPX-01 antibody is protected worldwide via multiple granted patents. Additional combinations of delivery vehicles, conjugation/chelation technologies and radioisotope variation are routinely considered and evaluated for their proprietary nature and if appropriate, patent applications are filed. Regulatory exclusivity will extend FPX-01 protection in the US market.
Management Team Highlights
Frank Gleeson, CEO. Founding CEO of Fusion Pharma, DVLR Therapeutics, Verio Therapeutics (sold to Fate Therapeutics in 2010) and former Partner with MDS Capital Corp. Mr. Gleeson has raised over $200M in syndicated financings.
Michael Cross

Genrich

Genrich is a Multi-Family office founded and based in Long Beach California with additional offices in New York Toronto and London. The firm is looking to make equity and venture debt investments into companies in the life science space ranging from $2-$2 million over the lifetime of the investment often set up in tranches. Ideal candidates will be located 2 hours driving distance from one of the firm?s offices Boston and Chicago will also be considered. The firm is actively seeking new investment opportunities.
John Nelson
Managing Director 

Golden Seeds

Golden Seeds is an investment group that was founded in 25 and is headquartered in New York with other offices in Boston Silicon Valley and Texas. The group currently invests out of the Golden Seeds angel network and the Golden Seeds venture funds. The group has managed 3 venture funds that are Golden Seeds Fund LP Golden Seeds Fund 2 LP and Innovate New York LP Fund. The Golden Seeds angel network has 32 members of which 1 are life science investors. Golden Seeds invests in companies with a female founder or CEO or with women in other C-level positions or with at least 1% of equity owned by women. Golden Seeds prefers to invest in companies with a valuation under $5 million, the group?s first-round equity investments generally range from $ .25 million to $2 million. The group invests in companies based across the US and Canada.
Bill Whitaker
Managing Director Co-Chair Life Science Section 

Green Park & Golf Ventures

Green Park & Golf Ventures (GPG) is a family office based in Dallas Texas. The firm was founded in 211 and is focused on healthcare companies. The firm makes seed venture and growth stage investments. The firm typically provides seed and Series A equity financing in the range of $1K to $1M per portfolio company. The firm generally acts as the lead investor and is open to invest in syndicates. The firm primarily invests in companies that are based in Texas but is open to opportunities across North America. The firm is actively seeking new investment opportunities.
Clay Heighten
Founding Partner 
JR Garcia
Principal 
Carl Soderstrom
Founding Partner 

Greenhouse Capital Partners United States

Greenhouse Capital Partner is a venture capital firm that was founded in 2006 and is based in Sausalito, California. The firm selectively makes equity investments into life science companies in seed stage and series A financing round, but it also provides growth equity to highly capital efficient companies that can achieve cash flow break-even within two years. The typical investment size ranges from $0.25 million to $2 million.The firm focuses on investments in US based companies.

Eric Desai
Principal