Volume 11 Issue 1, March 2017

By leveraging an innovative discovery platform, Curileum Discovery is developing an approach based on stem cell drugs that has the potential to cure a wide range of gastrointestinal disorders.

Temple Therapeutics BV’s first-in-class phase-3-ready drug candidate for postoperative fibrosis is ready for partnering for an untapped $5 billion market.

Cancer vaccines based on tumor-specific neoantigens are becoming the next big immunotherapy partnering opportunity.

Oncolytic viruses developed to specifically destroy tumor cells are a potent form of immunotherapy, and consequently are finding their place in immunotherapy combination regimens. TILT Biotherapeutics’ oncolytic viruses enable solid tumor T cell therapy and checkpoint-inhibiting antibodies.

A Dallas-based biotech company is leading a wave of innovation in cancer treatment that is being tailored to the cancer patients who are most likely to respond.

Tumor cells use various strategies to avoid immune reactions. Most efforts by researchers to circumvent these tactics have focused on monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that target inhibitory checkpoints to reactivate the immune response against tumor cells. The rapidly growing field of immuno-oncology has seen the approval of several promising drugs of this kind.

By improving single-cell analysis, Sphere Fluidics’ microfluidics technology is providing new options for antibody discovery and cell-line development.

Icell Kealex Therapeutics is developing oncolytic vaccinia viruses armed with T-cell-engaging antibody fragments that boost the virus’s antitumor efficacy. The company is entering phase 1 trials for solid tumors with its lead product and is looking to partner with companies interested in clinical codevelopment of its wide-ranging therapeutic pipeline.

Aposense is exploring an overlooked powerful electric field present at the depth of every biological membrane, in order to energize a pipeline of therapeutic opportunities.

London-based ValiSeek is developing VAL401, a repurposed treatment for lung and other cancers that is now ready for partnering

Exploration by biopharma companies of new biological pathways underlying skin disorders is leading to the entry of potential blockbusters into the dermatology market, and fueling high-value deals.

NanoViricides, Inc. has developed unique micelles termed nanoviricides that can bind and inactivate viruses, including those that cause shingles and genital ulcers.