Keno Gutierrez

We develop clinically driven, first-in-class, tissue-specific therapeutics from human diseased tissue to treat specific fibrotic disease populations.

Tessellate BIO discovers and develops novel precision oncology medicines with the mission to turn cancer patients into cancer survivors. A private preclinical stage biotechnology company, Tessellate BIO is redefining Synthetic Lethality by developing drugs that target unexplored or difficult to drug pathways beyond HRD. Headquartered in the Netherlands and with research labs at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, UK, Tessellate BIO is supported by top-tier life science investors BioGeneration Ventures (BGV) and Forbion.

Riffyn is a cloud software and scientific services company working to make scientific R&D work better. We provide our customers with the software and training to design R&D processes, globally integrate scientific data, and apply machine learning in routine science practices.

DNA Script was created to revolutionize DNA synthesis with enzymes. Our core R&D efforts have produced innovations in enzyme engineering, surface and nucleotide chemistries, and instrumentation. The integration of these innovations has resulted in SYNTAX™️, the world’s first benchtop DNA printer powered by enzymatic technology. With continued advancement and innovation, we believe DNA Script’s enzymatic DNA synthesis technology is poised to become the engine of genomics research and personalized medicine.

Xilio is a Waltham, Massachusetts-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on defeating cancer. The company’s proprietary technology enables the explosion of therapeutic activity specifically within the tumor while reducing toxicity throughout the body – a nod to the company name, Xilio, derived from the Latin term, Ex Nihilo, meaning creation or big-bang. Xilio is applying its technology to build a broad pipeline of engineered antibodies, cytokines and chemokines as potential new options for people living with cancer.

Immunitas is an immuno-oncology therapeutics company advancing multiple programs to the clinic. Immunitas’ programs are derived from a cross-functional, highly integrated, single cell genomics platform that enables rapid target identification and validation in parallel with antibody discovery and engineering. IMT-009, a first-in-class T & NK cell modulator targeting CD161, is being developed for the treatment of solid tumors and hematological malignancies. The company was founded with leading scientists from Dana Farber, MGH, the Broad, and MIT. In 2019, Immunitas raised a $39M Series A from a strong syndicate of investors including the Longwood Fund, Hillhouse, NVF, Leaps by Bayer, and M Ventures.

As the arsenal of available cancer therapies has grown and evolved from cytotoxic chemotherapy to targeted therapy to immunotherapy, one fact has unfortunately remained constant…nearly all cancer drug therapies eventually fail due to the development of drug resistance. Mutation of cellular DNA is central to the formation of cancer, and chronic mutation of the cancer genome is a primary cause of cancer evolution and drug resistance, resulting in ineffective therapy, cancer recurrence and metastasis, and decreased overall survival. ApoGen Biotechnologies is developing novel oncology therapeutics targeting the key drivers of mutation and cancer genomic evolution to overcome drug resistance. (www.apogenbiotech.com)

Soteria is developing a next generation of conditionally active bispecific t-cell engaging antibodies to treat cancer patients with solid tumors. Soteria’s highly innovative T-LITE™ platform provides small molecule-dependent activation of bispecific antibody therapies, enabling safer and more efficacious treatments through pulsatile activity, reduced side effects and higher dosing. T-LITEs incorporate a small molecule-controlled switch into a conventional bispecific t-cell engaging antibody which enables precise on/off control over the timing and magnitude of redirected T-cell cytotoxic activity. Soteria was founded in 2018 with technology licensed from UC San Francisco and is based in San Mateo, California.

iOmx is a young, dynamic start-up in the field of immuno-oncology located in Martinsried/Munich, Germany. Backed by a powerful technology platform and internationally renowned investors, iOmx is driving forward a cutting-edge portfolio of early-stage novel immune-checkpoint drugs through pre-clinical and clinical development. Imprint: https://iomx.com/imprint

Galecto is a clinical stage biotechnology company committed to the development of novel small molecule therapeutics directed at biological targets which are at the heart of fibrosis, inflammation, and cancer. Galecto was founded by leading fibrosis-focused scientists and biotech executives and is built on more than 10 years of research into galectin and fibrosis modulators. Our team has developed a deep understanding of the galectin family of proteins and the LOXL2 enzyme, and how both influence multiple biological pathways of these complex, often devastating, diseases. Galecto is funded by Novo Holdings, OrbiMed, Ysios, HBM Healthcare Investments, Sunstone Capital, M Ventures, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Maverick Ventures, Seventure and SEED Capital.

iOnctura is a clinical-stage biotech developing selective cancer therapies against targets that play critical roles in multiple tumor survival pathways such as cellular proliferation; escape from immune detection; and drug resistance. iOnctura’s pioneering approach to drug development is expected to offer significant clinical benefits over the traditional approach of targeting a single pathway alone. iOnctura has progressed two therapeutic candidates into mid-stage clinical development: IOA-244, a highly selective allosteric inhibitor of PI3Kδ to treat Treg-driven tumors; and IOA-289, a highly selective, non-competitive autotaxin (ATX) inhibitor to treat cancer associated fibroblast (CAF) driven tumors. iOnctura is backed by specialist institutional investors including M Ventures, Inkef Capital, VI Partners, Schroders Capital, and 3B Future Health Fund. For more information, please visit www.ionctura.com

FundaMental Pharma is engaged in pioneering research around a breakthrough molecular mechanism that allows to safely counteract glutamate neurotoxicity (also known as excitotoxicity) by specifically targeting the interface between NMDA receptors and TRPM4 channels with small molecule TwinF interface inhibitors (Yan et al., Science 2020). TwinF interface inhibitors constitute an entirely new class of drugs that safely ameliorate glutamate neurotoxicity, a common cause of neurodegeneration. Our initial focus is on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The applicability of our molecules extends to a range of neurogenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

We develop clinically driven, first-in-class, tissue-specific therapeutics from human diseased tissue to treat specific fibrotic disease populations.

Tessellate BIO discovers and develops novel precision oncology medicines with the mission to turn cancer patients into cancer survivors. A private preclinical stage biotechnology company, Tessellate BIO is redefining Synthetic Lethality by developing drugs that target unexplored or difficult to drug pathways beyond HRD. Headquartered in the Netherlands and with research labs at the Stevenage Bioscience Catalyst, UK, Tessellate BIO is supported by top-tier life science investors BioGeneration Ventures (BGV) and Forbion.

BioGeneration Ventures (BGV) is a venture capital company, with a focus on early stage European biotech, medtech, and diagnostics companies. BGV has a strong track record of significant financial returns through investing in innovations in healthcare and providing the expertise to build world-class teams. The Company manages over €100 million of funds investing in areas where true scientific innovations, the unmet medical need, and the potential to demonstrate a significant proof of concept all come together. BGV strives to work with founding teams to mature science and build companies. The Company uses its experience to guide progress into clinical trials, ultimately leading to successful drug development and value realisation for its investors. BGV applies its expertise in a rigorous process to select the most compelling opportunities with the best prospects for exit. Historical successful investments include divestment of Dezima Pharma to Amgen for up to USD 1.55 billion in total deal value and in Acerta Pharma for up to USD 7 billion with a guaranteed payment of USD 4 billion. Both companies were co-founded by BGV in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The Acerta Pharma sale was the largest exit ever of a privately held European biotech company. BGV is based in Naarden, The Netherlands, and closely collaborates with Forbion.