Novo A/S is a Danish private limited liability company wholly owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, and the holding company of the Novo Group and as such the majority shareholder in the publicly listed companies Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S.  Novo A/S was established in 1999 prior to the demerger of Novo Nordisk A/S, where Novozymes A/S was established as a stand-alone publicly listed company. Novo's purpose and objectives are to manage the Foundation's financial assets and to ensure the Foundation sufficient dividends to cover its grant obligations for medical and scientific research etc. in Scandinavia.  Novo A/S attains these objectives through: compliance with the rules and principles which are set out in the Articles of Association of the Novo Nordisk Foundation regarding exercise of the voting rights of A and B shares in Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, respectively,  assurance that all companies in which the company has a material influence actively contribute to the development of the Novo Group and operate their business in accordance with the visions and values of the Novo Group,  maintenance of a material influence on Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, and  investment and financing business including placing of capital in companies and real property domestically and abroad.  Novoâ€™s overall investment strategy is thus to maintain ownership of Novo Nordiskâ€™ and Novozymesâ€™ shares at a level just above 25% and to invest dividends from these companies and other income in the life science area as well as in a broad portfolio of financial assets.  Novo A/S has since 1999 established itself as an international venture capital partner in the life science area and has invested in over 50 companies in Denmark, Europe and North America.   Through its financial investment activities Novo A/S seeks to spread the companyâ€™s total financial risk and at the same time to ensure a high return taking into consideration the chosen risk profile.   In 2007 Novo A/S together with the Novo Nordisk Foundation established â€˜Novo Seedsâ€™. The new program (split into two sub-programs) is aimed at supporting early stage applied research in the life science area in Scandinavia.   At the beginning of 2009 Novo A/S launched a new initiative, investing 'growth equity' into promising later stage/commercial stage life science companies.   Novo A/S represents the interests of the Novo Nordisk Foundation through participation on the boards of the companies in the Novo Group.  The companies in the Novo Group are members of a 'family of companies', independently managed, but sharing a set of common values as set out in the 'Charter for Companies in the Novo Group'. In the Charter these core values, commitments and management principles that companies in the Novo Group should live up to are described.

Novo Ventures

Theraxyte

TheraXyte BioScience is a biotechnology company focused on extracellular vesicle (EV)-mediated drug delivery and novel EV-based therapeutics. It aims to establish a multifunctional EV-based drug delivery platform that can meet the upcoming challenges of various therapeutic applications, driving EV research from the lab bench to the bedside, and making a positive impact on human health by overcoming unsolved challenges with novel EV-based therapeutics. TheraXyte has developed and continuously upgraded its EV-based drug delivery platform, TAXY, which could enable the mass production of modifiable EVs at the GMP manufacturing level, has the capability of effectively payload packaging, and target organs/cells of interest where payload drug molecules/active biological molecules could be effectively released as therapeutics.

Theraxyte is working to advance its pipeline of immunotherapy drug candidates through clinical trials. The company's lead product is currently in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of a specific type of cancer.

The biggest Asia-Pacific biotech investments in July 2022

Therapeutics that target specific areas/tissues to minimize treatment side effects.

Tissue Targeting Therapeutics

Theraxyte is working to advance its pipeline of immunotherapy drug candidates through clinical trials. The company's lead product is currently in Phase II clinical development for the treatment of a specific type of cancer.
Technology and Product Pipeline
Theraxyte's proprietary technology is designed to train the patient's own T cells to recognize and attack cancer cells. This approach aims to provide a more targeted and effective treatment compared to traditional chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
In addition to its lead program, Theraxyte has several other drug candidates in earlier stages of development targeting different cancer types.

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 Generation Bio is a biotechnology company developing non-viral genetic medicines for rare and prevalent diseases. The company's proprietary platform combines immune-quiet DNA (iqDNA), a novel variant of closed-ended DNA, with a cell-targeted lipid nanoparticle (ctLNP) delivery system and a rapid enzymatic synthesis (RES) manufacturing process. This platform is designed to create gene therapies with drug-like properties, offering durable gene expression, the ability to re-dose for individual patient titration, and the potential to sustain effect over a lifetime. Generation Bio's approach aims to enable multi-year durability from a single dose, deliver large genetic payloads, and allow titration and redosing to adjust or extend expression levels in each patient. The company's pipeline includes programs for liver diseases such as hemophilia A, phenylketonuria (PKU), and Wilson's disease, as well as eye disorders like Stargardt disease and Leber congenital amaurosis type 10. In October 2023, Generation Bio announced the development of iqDNA, which demonstrated cytokine levels and tolerability comparable to chemically modified messenger RNA in mice and non-human primates. Generation Bio's RES manufacturing process has the potential to produce ceDNA at a scale of hundreds of millions of doses.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 In March 2023, Generation Bio entered into a strategic partnership with Moderna to develop non-viral genetic medicines. The collaboration combines Moderna's expertise with Generation Bio's platform technologies to expand their respective non-viral genetic medicines pipelines. Under this partnership, Moderna is using Generation Bio's ctLNP delivery system and iqDNA technology to advance two immune cell programs and two liver programs. The deal included a USD 40 million upfront cash payment and a USD 36 million equity investment from Moderna. Generation Bio will also receive future development, regulatory, and commercial milestone payments, along with royalties on worldwide net sales of immune cell-targeted and liver-targeted products. The partnership aims to develop new lipid nanoparticles and expand in vivo immune cell targeting as a new class of genetic medicines.
 
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Generation Bio

Oncopeptides AB is a biotech company focused on developing therapies for difficult-to-treat hematological diseases, particularly multiple myeloma. The company's lead product, PEPAXTO (melphalan flufenamide, also known as melflufen), received FDA approval in February 2021 for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior lines of therapy. PEPAXTO is the first anticancer peptide-drug conjugate approved by the FDA for this indication. The drug works by leveraging aminopeptidases, which are overexpressed in multiple myeloma cells, to release cytotoxic agents.
In August 2022, the European Commission granted marketing authorization for Pepaxti (melphalan flufenamide) in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior lines of therapies. Oncopeptides' research is based on two technology platforms: Peptide Drug Conjugates (PDC) and Small Polypeptide based Innate Killer Engagers (SPiKE). The PDC platform allows for efficient drug distribution in the body, enabling a wide therapeutic window and an optimized benefit-risk profile. The SPiKE platform utilizes the immune system to fight cancer by targeting natural killer cells, potentially reducing dose-limiting side effects while maintaining clinical efficacy.
As of 2023, Oncopeptides was conducting one clinical phase 3 study and six clinical phase 2 studies. The company's pipeline includes innovative drug candidates for difficult-to-treat hematological diseases, with the potential to expand into new indications. Oncopeptides' approach is science and data-driven, focusing on bringing innovation to patients with rare hematological diseases.

Oncopeptides

Neurona Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company focused on developing regenerative cell therapy candidates for the treatment of neurological disorders. The company's lead investigational candidate, NRTX-1001, is being evaluated in an ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial for drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). NRTX-1001 is a regenerative neural cell therapy derived from human pluripotent stem cells. It consists of fully-differentiated neural cells called interneurons that secrete the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Delivered as a one-time dose, these human interneurons are intended to integrate on-target and durably silence seizure activity in the epileptic region of the brain. In December 2023, Neurona presented early data from five participants in the ongoing study of NRTX-1001. Two patients who received the therapy more than a year prior experienced at least a 95% reduction in overall seizure frequency. NRTX-1001 is manufactured in Neurona's in-house GMP facility using proprietary methods. Beyond epilepsy, Neurona is also evaluating NRTX-1001 for potential application in Alzheimer's disease. The company's pipeline includes other cell therapy candidates such as investigational myelinating glial cells and gene-edited cells for undisclosed indications.

Neurona Therapeutics

Evox Therapeutics is a biotechnology company specializing in exosome therapeutics. The company utilizes its proprietary DeliverEX technology to engineer exosomes for drug delivery to specific organs, including the brain and central nervous system. Evox's approach aims to overcome limitations of genetic medicines such as gene therapy, gene editing, and RNA therapeutics by enabling safe, non-immunogenic repeated delivery to cells and tissues that are challenging to reach with other drug delivery technologies.
The company's technology focuses on harnessing and engineering the natural delivery capabilities of extracellular vesicles, known as exosomes, to develop a new class of therapeutics for treating severe rare diseases. Evox's intellectual property portfolio includes more than 100 granted patents across key jurisdictions, covering various aspects of exosome-based drug design, development, and manufacturing. In May 2023, Evox was granted a US patent for a method of purifying engineered exosomes using ultrafiltration and size-based separation steps, which is widely used in exosome therapeutics.
In June 2023, Evox acquired Codiak Biosciences' engEx-AAV technology platform, which enables active loading of adeno-associated virus (AAV) into exosomes. This technology has demonstrated improved AAV delivery, increased expression breadth in preclinical models, and shielding of AAVs from neutralizing antibodies. The acquisition aligns with Evox's strategy to enhance exosome-mediated delivery for genetic medicines such as gene therapy and genome editors.

Evox Therapeutics

Aro Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company based in Philadelphia that specializes in developing tissue-targeted genetic medicines. The company's core technology is a proprietary protein platform called Centyrins, which enables efficient and tissue-specific delivery of siRNA and other genetic drugs. Aro's lead candidate, ABX1100, is being developed for the treatment of Pompe disease, a rare genetic disorder characterized by toxic glycogen accumulation in muscles. ABX1100 comprises a CD71 receptor-binding Centyrin conjugated to a small interfering RNA (siRNA) that targets the Gys1 gene, reducing levels and activity of the Gys1 enzyme in muscle tissues. The therapy has shown promising results in preclinical studies, demonstrating potent and muscle-specific reductions in Gys1 mRNA and protein in the Pompe mouse model. In October 2023, Aro initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of ABX1100 in Canada, with initial data expected in 2024. The US Food and Drug Administration granted ABX1100 Orphan Drug Designation and Rare Pediatric Disease status. Beyond Pompe disease, Aro is exploring the potential of its Centyrin-siRNA conjugate programs for developing new treatments for autoimmune disorders.

Aro Biotherapeutics

Therapeutics that are designed to target specific cells to reach designated target sites

Therapeutics that are designed to target specific protein or protein receptors to reach designated target sites

Therapeutics that use different targeting approaches, such as bone-targeting or pressure-based, to help therapeutics identify specific target sites

Companies that offer contract research and manufacturing facilities that focus on tissue-targeting therapeutics for life sciences organizations

Theraxyte

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