Companies

Alder Therapeutics aims to provide therapies derived from pluripotent stem cells to benefit patients with incurable diseases, starting with the eye disease retinitis pigmentosa. Using the AlderEdge™ methodology, the company is developing two game-changing allogeneic stem cell therapies. The lead program, ALD01, is a mutation-agnostic treatment for a form of the hereditary eye disease retinitis pigmentosa, and the second is a treatment for heart failure. Both candidates are supported by promising, high-quality preclinical data and the eye programme is expected to be ready to enter first-in-human trials in the coming years. Alder Therapeutics is a Swedish biotech company based on discoveries and IP generated by, and licensed from, Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore and the Swedish biotechnology company BioLamina.

Amarna Therapeutics is developing transformative, potentially curative gene therapies for both rare and prevalent diseases without triggering a problematic immune response. These pioneering gene therapies are based on a simian polyomavirus (SV40) that humans are immunologically naïve to. Amarna has created a proprietary production cell line (SuperVero™) that, for the first time, allows the production of SV40-derived vectors suitable for therapeutic use. Combining SuperVero™ with its genetically engineered viral vector, Nimvec™, Amarna has developed a fully integrated gene therapy platform unique in its intrinsic capability to deliver transgenes without eliciting immune responses to the vector or the transgene product. The focus of the team is to show proof-of-concept of its platform and initial candidate AM510 by demonstrating its tolerisation approach to treating type 1 diabetes.

AnaCardio is developing novel inotropic agents with a unique mode of action based on the ghrelin signaling pathway. Unlike current therapies, AnaCardio’s treatment enhances cardiomyocyte contractility and force, thereby increasing cardiac output and potentially improving organ function. This may lead to greater functional capacity, quality of life, and reduced risk of hospitalisation and mortality. AnaCardio’s treatment concept arises from groundbreaking research from the Karolinska Institute and Professor Lars Lund, the company’s founder.

Atrogi is a clinical stage company developing a first-in-class drug for the oral treatment of type 2 diabetes, based on Professor Tore Bengtsson’s research at Stockholm University. Atrogi’s technology platform, is based on an innovative concept of stimulating the β2-adrenergic receptor to address various metabolic disorders, including type 2 diabetes, obesity, and muscle-wasting conditions. The company’s lead asset, ATR-258, has successfully completed a Phase I safety study involving both healthy volunteers and individuals with type 2 diabetes. This first-in-class, once-daily oral treatment will offer significant advantages in patient adherence and convenience compared to injectable therapies.

Bonsai Biotherapeutics is developing breakthrough drug candidates that restore the immune system’s tolerance to the proteins mistakenly attacked in MG and ANCA vasculitis. The drug candidates consist of modified versions of the targeted proteins produced in a biological manufacturing process. The company’s most advanced therapeutic candidate, TOL2 for myasthenia gravis, is expected to enter a placebo-controlled clinical trial in MG patients in 2025.

Buzzard Pharmaceuticals is developing a powerful interleukin-1 inhibitor, Isunakinra, for the treatment of solid tumours in conjunction with a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor. Isunakinra is a chimeric protein that binds to IL1R1, effectively inhibiting signalling with high potency. The rights to the drug were obtained from Eleven Biotherapeutics in 2017, and the drug was repositioned from ophthalmology to oncology. Isunakinra is currently undergoing Phase 1/2 trials involving patients with solid tumours at the Baylor Research Institute in Dallas, Texas.

Egetis Therapeutics is developing Emcitate® (tiratricol), a drug candidate with the potential to become the first approved treatment for patients with MCT8 deficiency. In 2023 a marketing authorisation application (MAA) was submitted for Emcitate® to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and there are plans to submit a new drug application (NDA) in the US after the results from the ongoing registrational trial, ReTRIAC are available. The company is also developing Aladote® (calmangafodipir), a first-in-class treatment aimed at preventing acute liver damage from paracetamol overdose, with Orphan Drug Designation in the US and in the EU. Egetis is preparing for a pivotal Phase 2b/3 trial with the candidate.

Empros Pharma is developing EMP16, an oral weight-loss medication that combines the established weight-loss and diabetes drugs orlistat and acarbose with a novel controlled-release formulation to prevent fat and carbohydrate absorption, acting locally in the gut, as opposed to systemically like most other drugs. The goal is to create a safe oral first-line treatment for this rapidly growing patient group, with additional opportunities in weight maintenance, in combination with other drugs, as well as in the OTC setting (over-the-counter). In 2024, Empros Pharma announced positive topline data from a Phase 2b trial that achieved its primary endpoint, demonstrating more significant weight loss than Orlistat alone. The company is currently preparing to enter Phase 3 trials.

EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals is developing a novel oral first-in-class therapeutic, glasmacinal (previously EP395), to reduce exacerbations of COPD. It is well known that one class of antibiotics (macrolides) has unique anti-inflammatory properties, in addition to its antimicrobial effects. EpiEndo harnesses this, removing the antibiotic properties that would otherwise increase the risk of antimicrobial resistance when used chronically, to develop a new class of anti-inflammatory ‘Barriolides’. Glasmacinal successfully completed a Phase 2a trial in 2024.

Geneos Therapeutics, a US-based clinical stage biotherapeutics company believes that the company’s personalized therapeutic cancer vaccines (PTCVs) may serve an important role in new immunotherapeutic paradigms for cancer. The company’s approach, using its proprietary GT-EPIC™ platform, is to target neoantigens (abnormal mutations produced by cancer cells) from individual patient tumors to develop novel and uniquely personalized treatments for cancer. They are targeting solid tumours, initially liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC). There is an ongoing phase Ib/IIa trial in second-line HCC patients, with initial encouraging results, including a number of complete responses pointing towards a potential cure in a patient group known for its poor prognosis.

KAHR Medical has created a proprietary Multifunctional Immune Recruitment Protein (MIRP) platform to develop next-generation treatments for both solid and haematological cancers. The company’s drug candidates utilise various methods to synergistically disable cancer defences and activate a targeted response involving both innate and adaptive immunity. KAHR’s lead product, DSP107, is a first-in-class CD47x41BB targeting agent currently undergoing clinical development for patients with solid tumours (such as colorectal adenocarcinoma), with several ongoing clinical and preclinical programs.

Lipum is developing a biological anti-inflammatory drug candidate SOL-116 that features a novel mechanism of action targeting BSSL. The company is initially focused on treating rheumatoid arthritis while also exploring other inflammatory diseases with significant unmet medical needs, such as juvenile idiopathic arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. Lipum is currently assessing SOL-116 in a Phase I clinical study involving healthy volunteers and a group of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Mendus develops off-the-shelf, allogeneic immunotherapies, enabling the immune system to summon an active, long-lasting immunity against tumour cells. By stimulating dendritic cells, a key cell type in the immune system, Mendus’ immunotherapies have the potential to improve long-term survival for cancer patients. The company’s lead candidate vididencel is currently being evaluated in three separate clinical trials, targeting acute myeloid leukaemia and ovarian cancer.

Microbiotica specialises in the development of live biotherapeutic products, targeting cancer and inflammatory bowel disease. The company’s technology rests on a purpose-built microbiome profiling platform backed by clinical data that identifies specific bacterial strains that may have clinical benefit in well-defined patient populations. The company’s lead candidates include MB097 (consortium of nine bacterial strains), a co-therapy designed to enhance immune checkpoint inhibitors in melanoma, and MB310 (consortium of eight bacterial strains), a monotherapy targeting ulcerative colitis. The company is currently running two independent clinical Phase 1b trials to evaluate the safety and initial signals of efficacy.

Prokarium is a UK-based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, pioneering the field of microbial immunotherapy. Prokarium’s most advanced therapeutic agent ZH9 is a modified bacterium that acts as an immunotherapy currently being evaluated in a multicenter Phase I clinical trial in NMIBC patients in the US. The study initially aims to demonstrate safety, and if successful, advance to characterise the clinical efficacy of ZH9 in a pre-planned expansion cohort.

Strike Pharma is developing a modular technology platform for targeted delivery of nanoparticles. It has broad potential within multiple areas including cancer immunotherapy and targeted gene therapy. Strike is developing a lead in vivo CAR-T candidate that delivers a CD19 CAR to T cells based on a CD3 targeting antibody.

Vitara Biomedical is developing the next generation care for preterm infants. Using the company’s biopod, Vitara Biomedical aims to provide neonatal intensive care units at hospitals with a revolutionary technology, mimicking a mother’s womb to improve natural development of neonates. This could bridge preterm infants to a development stage where the lungs are developed enough to function independently. Vitara is currently in the preclinical phase, aiming to initiate clinical testing in the coming years.

Xspray Pharma develops improved formulations of marketed PKIs using its innovative HyNap technology, resulting in highly soluble amorphous product candidates with the potential to improve treatment outcomes. The company’s lead candidate, Dasynoc, demonstrates a therapeutic effect comparable to its crystalline equivalent at a 30% lower dose, highlighting the potential of the company’s technology. Xspray aims to enter the market as a competitor to established blockbuster drugs as soon as the drug substance patents expire, bypassing secondary patents. Over the coming five years, 23 PKI-drug substance patents are expected to expire, creating a substantial market opportunity.

Bohus Biotech was one of the first companies in the world to explore the diversity of functions in hyaluronic acid. Since then, the company has been a global leader in innovating and developing medical and aesthetic products that utilise the substance’s qualities. Bohus Biotech’s research and development has led to high-grade products addressing needs in ophthalmics, dermal procedures and orthopaedic interventions. The company is fully integrated, connecting the first step in research and development, all through the chain, to the last step in manufacturing and shipping at its location in Strömstad.

Chromafora develops unique methods to clean water from PFAS and heavy metals and collect and recirculate valuable minerals such as gold and rare earth metals. To this end, Chromafora offers SELMEXT and SELPAXT, which target earth metals and PFAS, and PFAS respectively, to industrial and institutional actors that work with or utilise water in their processes. By tackling these persistent environmental pollutants, Chromafora’s technologies contribute to mitigating health risks while offering sustainable water treatment.

Inspired by the success of the picks and shovel providers during the Gold Rush, Frontier Biosolutions aims to identify key tools and services critical for modern pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. To achieve this, Frontier Biosolutions leverages the team’s extensive experience and network to identify, invest in, and develop a platform of revenue-generating businesses. The company’s foundational investment in Coriolis Pharma, an industry-leading drug development and analytical services provider, demonstrates Frontier Biosolution’s commitment to addressing critical bottlenecks in advanced therapeutic development. Frontier Biosolutions is a privately held company based in London, United Kingdom, with Coriolis Pharma based in Munich, Germany

Nanologica is a Swedish life science tools company that offers state-of-the-art purification methods founded in materials science and nanotechnology. The company’s main product NLAB Saga® is a silica-based media offered specifically to manufacturers that purify peptide drugs, e.g., insulin and GLP-1 analogues. By developing, producing, and selling advanced expendables to manufacturing companies, Nanologica helps customers optimise workflows while lowering costs.

NorthX Biologics is an industry-leading CDMO that provides comprehensive services from concept to commercial manufacturing. Beyond CDMO® stands for a partnership in the truest sense, navigating the complexities of biologics developing and manufacturing in a collaborative way. Its services cover a wide range of biologics, including plasmid DNA, mRNA, recombinant proteins, viral vectors, and cell therapies. NorthX tackles the complexity of biologic manufacturing by offering tailored solutions to its various customers, which range from small drug developers to large biopharma companies. By physically adapting its facilities and processes to accommodate evolving demands, the company is employing its business model to lead the industry’s shift toward personalised therapies.

Symcel develops and markets calScreener™, a unique instrument that employs calorimetry, a label-free and non-destructive method, to measure microbial and cellular viability. The technology enables fast, sensitive, and accurate detection of metabolic activity, and it is used in sterility testing for cell and gene therapies, as well as rapid infection diagnostics. Symcel markets its solutions using a B2B model, targeting drug developers, universities, biotech companies, and research institutions within the life sciences sector. By establishing calorimetry as a new standard of measurement, Symcel aims to revolutionise the global market for biological research, diagnostics and sterility testing within the healthcare and biotech sectors.