Wellington Partners
Wellington Partners is a venture capital firm based in Munich, Germany, with an additional office in Zurich, Switzerland. The firm specializes in early-stage and growth capital investments in the Technology and Life Sciences sector. The firm has approximately €800M AUM and is currently investing out of a €100M fund for Life Science companies. Depending on the stage of the company, the firm can allocate up to €10M over the life of the investment. The firm can also lead or co-lead financing rounds of up to €30M or higher with syndicates. The firm focuses on European companies but will consider US-based companies with activities in Europe. The firm is actively seeking new investment opportunities.
Rainer Strohmenger
General PartnerWestern Oncolytics, Ltd.
Western Oncolytics is developing a novel immunotherapy to treat a wide range of solid tumors. Our therapy is an oncolytic vector with multiple therapeutic transgenes that both stimulate the immune system and remove local tumor immune inhibition. The vector is engineered to avoid the immune system itself, thus overcoming a major drawback in competing designs. It is the only therapy in the world with these leading attributes. Western Oncolytics' therapy works in combination with other treatments, e.g. checkpoint inhibitors, and is capable of systemic (intravenous) delivery.
Our team comprises the leading scientists, clinicians, and regulatory experts within our field, including entrepreneurs who successfully exited companies with earlier technologies. In comparison animal testing measuring tumor growth and survival, our therapy performed far better than earlier, clinically-proven oncolytic therapies.
Western Oncolytics is currently raising investment to complete preclinical development and a planned clinical trial.
Kurt Rote
CEOWestwood & Wilshire LLC
Westwood & Wilshire is a premier provider of executive search services to the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Medical Devices and Diagnostics sectors. Services include:
-Direct Hire Executive Search
-Interim Executive Search and Consultant Placement
-Board of Director and Advisory Group Development
Our clients range from Venture Capital-backed portfolio start ups to Fortune 500 Big Pharma. Our success encompasses executive level placements across Clinical, Medical, Regulatory, R&D, Quality and Commercial.
Alan Cullen
PresidentMichael Cane
Executive RecruiterWuXi Venture Fund
WuXi Venture Fund is the corporate venture arm of WuXi AppTec, a multinational CRO based in Shanghai China with multiple offices across China and the United States. The fund makes equity investments into technology and life science companies to enhance or leverage WuXi AppTec's platform capabilities. The investment size will be varied based on a case-by-case basis. The firm invests in life science companies across the globe with an emphasis in China and the US.
Alexis Ji
PrincipalSofie Qiao
Managing DirectorXalud Therapeutics, Inc.
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.
Peter Heinecke
Chief Business OfficerXeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
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.
Yuzu Labs
Zcube | Research Venture
Z-Cube invests strategically in technologies that benefit Zambon’s pharmaceuticals and API chemical businesses.
Within the therapeutics sector, Z-Cube is interested in new technological platforms that enable Zambon’s therapeutic innovation (Z-Cube does not make developmental-stage investments in new chemical entities, and as Zambon only markets small molecule therapeutics, technologies related to biologics are not of interest). This includes drug delivery innovations, and other enabling technologies for therapeutics that do not have to undergo the full therapeutic approval process in order to reach the marketplace.
Z-Cube is also interested in diagnostics, particularly point of care diagnostics, companion diagnostics and other diagnostics that are used alongside a therapeutic intervention, and diagnostics that can be used in preventative care or to lower overall healthcare costs. Zambon is also interested in diagnostic technologies used to monitor a chronic condition.
Zambon’s therapeutic focus areas are respiratory diseases and pain (particularly chronic pain), and the firm is also interested in CNS disorders and women’s health (encompassing osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis in addition to ob/gyn). However in the diagnostics sector, Zambon is interested in all indications.
Zambon is additionally interested in digital technologies that enhance communication in the healthcare space, particularly between doctor and patient or between general practitioners and specialists. This includes EMR and telehealth technologies, and devices that transmit information wirelessly.
Zambon is also interested in innovations in high-tech chemistry, including purification of APIs, advanced crystallography, and novel custom synthesis.