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GPB Scientific is transforming the process of purifying and enriching cells for cell therapy production. Reliable cell recovery and expansion are fundamental to the successful scale up of CAR-T or any therapeutic cell manufacturing process. GPB has developed a high-throughput, automatable, microfluidic closed-system for leukapheresis sample preparation and downstream processing of cells for CAR-T and other cell therapy production. This breakthrough reduces cell losses and skill-intensive manual steps.
3-V Biosciences, Inc. is discovering and developing therapeutics that modulate key pathways in oncology and infectious diseases. In oncology, the company`s lead candidate is a first-in-class, oral fatty acid synthase (FASN) inhibitor in Phase 1 clinical development that has been shown to block tumor cell signaling pathways and induce tumor cell apoptosis. 3-V`s antiviral therapeutics have demonstrated the ability to block host-pathogen interactions, resulting in robust and broad-spectrum in vitro and in vivo antiviral activity, including efficacy against viruses resistant to other classes of antiviral drugs, and a high barrier to resistance. The 3-V team applies an integrated approach, leveraging internal expertise in biology, medicinal chemistry, drug discovery and development to drive programs forward. The company is located in Menlo Park, California.
Organovo (NYSE MKT: ONVO) designs and creates functional, three-dimensional human tissues for medical research and therapeutic applications. The Company is collaborating with pharmaceutical and academic partners to develop human biological disease models in three dimensions. These 3D human tissues have the potential to accelerate the drug discovery process, enabling treatments to be developed faster and at lower cost. In addition to numerous scientific publications, their technology has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, The Economist, and other outlets. Organovo is changing the shape of medical research and practice.
Ethicon Endo-Surgery is a Cincinnati, OH-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Kezar co-founder Christopher Kirk, Ph.D. began his work on the unique function of the immunoproteasome at Proteolix in 2005, while working on the compound that would become the successful multiple myeloma drug KYPROLIS™ (carfilzomib). As VP of Research at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, which acquired Proteolix in 2009, Christopher led the efforts to develop the first selective inhibitors of the immunoproteasome and designed multiple studies demonstrating their profound immunomodulatory effects. In parallel with this work, Christopher and Kezar co-founder Jack Taunton, Ph.D. collaborated on several research projects involving protein secretion. This collaboration inspired a belief in the strong synergies between protein degradation and protein secretion, two fertile areas for drug discovery with platform potential. In 2014, Christopher and Kezar co-founder John Fowler began developing the business plan for Kezar, acting on a longstanding desire to work together and build a world-class company. In 2015, John and Christopher raised $23M and negotiated a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with Amgen for the Onyx immunoproteasome inhibitor patent estate. Now underway, John and Christopher are excited to leverage their complementary skill sets to build Kezar into a leader in small molecule drug development.