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Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is a chronic, life-threatening disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In the United States, 30,000 new cases are estimated every year with half of those cases diagnosed in young children. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the patient`s immune system goes awry and attacks and destroys the pancreatic beta cells. Beta cells are responsible for regulating blood sugar (glucose) levels by producing precise amounts of the essential hormone insulin. The discovery of injectable insulin in the 1920s changed T1D from a uniformly fatal disease with a life expectancy of months to one that could be carefully managed for decades through multiple daily blood glucose measurements and insulin injections. However, insulin injections are not a cure and patients face a lifetime of difficult disease management and serious complications including kidney failure, blindness and nerve damage. Despite nearly a century passing since the discovery of insulin, insulin injection remains the only treatment available to patients. Semma Therapeutics was founded to develop transformative therapies for patients who currently depend on insulin injections. Recent work in the laboratory of Professor Douglas Melton led to the discovery of a method to generate billions of functional, insulin-producing beta cells in the laboratory. These cells develop in islet-like clusters grown from stem cells. Initial preclinical work in animal models of diabetes has shown that transplantation of these cells are sufficient to control blood glucose levels. This breakthrough technology has been exclusively licensed to Semma Therapeutics for the development of a cell-based therapy for diabetes. Ongoing research at Semma Therapeutics is focused on combining these proprietary cells with a state-of-the-art cell delivery and immune protection strategy that can protect these cells from the patient`s immune system and allow the beta cells to function as they do in non-diabetic individuals. Implantation of the beta cell-filled device has the potential to provide a true replacement for the missing beta cells in a diabetic patient and would not require patient immunosuppression. Semma Therapeutics is working to bring this new therapeutic option to the clinic and improve the lives of patients with diabetes.
Mammoth Biosciences is harnessing the diversity of nature to power the next-generation of CRISPR products. Through the discovery and development of novel CRISPR systems, the company is enabling the full potential of its platform to improve lives by reading and writing the code of life. Mammoth aims to democratize disease detection with an easy and affordable point-of-care test that allows real-time and simultaneous detection of multiple conditions. By leveraging its internal research and development and exclusive licensing to Cas12, Cas13, Cas14, and CasΦ, Mammoth can provide enhanced diagnostics and genome editing for life science research, healthcare, agriculture, biodefense and more. Based in San Francisco, Mammoth Biosciences is co-founded by CRISPR pioneer Jennifer Doudna and principal founders Trevor Martin, Janice Chen, and Lucas Harrington. The firm is backed by top institutional investors including Mayfield, NFX, and 8VC, Decheng and leading individual investors including Brook Byers, Tim Cook, and Jeff Huber.
Greiner Bio One Inc is a Monroe, NC-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.
Switch Therapeutics is an emerging preclinical stage biotechnology company pioneering a new type of medicine that integrates nucleic acid nanotechnology and RNA interference (RNAi) science with the goal of treating a range of diseases – affecting the central nervous system and systemic indications – with significant unmet needs. Switch`s novel gene knockdown approach is based on technology developed by renowned researchers in the field of RNA from Caltech, Harvard and City of Hope. Based on the scientific discovery of Switch`s co-founders, the company has developed a novel proprietary platform known as CASi (Conditionally Activated siRNAs) that combines advantageous properties of both single and double-stranded RNAs in a single molecule, allowing for cell selective RNAi activity. To date, Switch has raised $52M in funding through Series A, and the company`s South San Francisco based team has continued to grow as its research has advanced.
Vitaflo USA is a Alexandria, VA-based company in the Healthcare, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotech sector.