Versant Ventures is a healthcare investment firm committed to helping exceptional entrepreneurs build the next generation of great companies. The firm invests across the healthcare sector and at all stages of company development, with an emphasis on the discovery and development of novel therapeutics. With $2.3 billion under management and offices in Canada, the U.S., and Europe, Versant has built a team with deep investment, operating, and scientific expertise that enables a hands-on approach to company building. Since the firm’s founding in 1999, more than 65 Versant companies have achieved successful acquisitions or IPOs.

Versant Ventures

MPM Capital is a healthcare investment firm that invests in companies developing therapeutic technologies in oncology. The company invests in life sciences companies that seek to cure diseases by translating science into clinical outcomes. The company prefers to invest in the biotechnology, healthcare, and life sciences sectors.

MPM Capital

Fonds de solidarité FTQ is a private equity and venture capital firm specializing in investments in start-ups, early venture, mergers, business acquisitions, management buyouts, market development project or a buyout, financing for new programs, organic growth and cash flow, growth and expansion financings, development capital, business succession, financial restructuring, business transition financing, family and non-family buyout, consolidations, turnaround, and leveraged management buyouts. It also invests in new markets, product and business line developments, market diversification, interim financings, new product marketing, additional working capital, purchase of tangible and intangible assets, equipment modernization, equipment purchases or upgrades, and integrator projects. The firm has regional funds that do not invest in retail, real estate, farming, biotechnology, and financial services.  Fonds de solidarité FTQ invests in small and medium-sized businesses. It typically invests in export projects, forest products, productivity improvement, natural resources, aerospace, agri-food, wood, pulp and paper, chemicals, construction and construction materials, printing, transportation equipment and automobiles, transportation services, furniture and fixtures, combinatorial chemistry and other lead generating technologies, mining and exploration, social economy, textiles, plastics, life sciences, business services, telecommunications, distribution and consumer goods, environment, equipment and machinery, financial services, information and communication technology, metal products, recreational tourism, and culture sectors.  Within the culture sector, Fonds de solidarité FTQ seeks to invest in pre-production and creative projects, production projects, infrastructures and services, post-production projects, distribution, and broadcasting and multiplatform broadcasting. Within the environment sector, it invests in waste management and energy conversion for residual waste; air treatment and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; processes to reduce industrial energy and water consumption; water treatment; and soil rehabilitation and decontamination (metals and organic compounds).  Within the life sciences sector, Fonds de solidarité FTQ focuses on services for the biopharmaceutical industry; nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals; diagnostics and medical supplies and equipment; biopharmaceuticals and generic drugs; biotechnology, and animal health. Within the tourism sector, it focuses on urban tourism, nature tourism, resort type tourism, and local tourism for Quebecers, and in the textiles sector it invests in companies engaged in development and production of specialty textiles as well as development of industrial applications for the construction, transportation, health and safety, and work apparel industries.  Fonds de solidarité FTQ prefers to invest in Quebec and in companies impacting the Québec economy. It focuses on investing in the following regions- Abitibi –Témiscamingue, Bas Saint Laurent, Chaudière-Appalaches, Côte-Nord, Estrie, Gaspésie Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Lanaudière, Laurentides, Laval, Mauricie - Centre-du-Québec, Montérégie, Nord-du-Québec, Outaouais, and Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean.  Fonds de solidarité FTQ seeks to invest in projects of $3 million or more and also provides loans of up to $ 2 million. It invests in companies in business succession sector having minimum capitalization of $500,000 and EBITDA of over $35.5 million in case of majority interest; equipment and machinery sector with average investment in excess of $3 million; environment sector with funding needs of more than $500000; financial services sector having net assets between $20 million and $50 million in equity; metal products sector having annual sales of over $5 million and financing needs of at least $2 million; and printing sector having investment needs of over $1 million.  In the information technology sector, Fonds de solidarité FTQ seeks to invest $2 million as initial investments while total investments can be more than $10 million. It invests in the form of equity financing (common or preferred shares) and unsecured debt requiring no collateral (debenture).  Fonds de solidarité FTQ can take both a minority interest including an equity stake of up to 49 percent as well a majority interest in its portfolio companies in case of business succession financing. It seeks a minority stake for the portfolio companies in the equipment and machinery sector. It typically holds its investments for a period of five to ten years in case of equity financing and for more than ten years in case of business succession financing.  Fonds de solidarité FTQ began operation on June 23, 1983. It has its headquarters in Montreal in Canada with additional offices in the same city and Quebec in the same country.

Fonds de solidarité FTQ

Celgene Corporation is a global integrated biopharmaceutical company primarily engaged in the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies designed to treat cancer and immune-inflammatory related diseases in patients with limited treatment options.   There are hundreds of clinical trials at major medical centers evaluating compounds from Celgene. Investigational compounds are being studied for patients with incurable hematological and solid tumor cancers, including multiple myeloma (MM), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), pancreatic cancer, non-small lung cancer and melanoma.   In addition, several compounds are being evaluated as therapies for serious inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Celgene

BDC Healthcare Venture is a venture capital firm specializes in healthcare investments. The firm prefers to invest in the innovative therapeutics, medical technology, health technology, prevention, diagnostics, personalized treatment, mobile technologies and services, robotics, automation and disease management sectors.

BDC Healthcare Venture

UBS Oncology Impact Fund

Cowen Healthcare Investments invests fiduciary capital in healthcare companies across the biopharma, diagnostics and digital health sectors.

Cowen Healthcare Investments

OrbiMed is a healthcare-dedicated investment firm, with approximately $5 billion in assets under management. OrbiMed's investment advisory business was founded in 1989 with a vision to invest across the spectrum of healthcare companies: from private start-ups to large multinational companies. OrbiMed manages the Caduceus Private Investments series of venture capital funds and a family of public equity investment funds.

OrbiMed

BDC offers financing, consulting services, subordinate financing and venture capital. They focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). BDC's services are available across Canada in both official languages through a network of more than 100 offices. Its head office is in Montreal.

Business Development Bank of Canada

Redmile Group is a healthcare investment organization that makes venture, growth, and crossover investing across healthcare.

Redmile Group

Biotechnology Value Fund is a San Francisco-based private investment partnership specializing in fundamentally-driven public biotechnology investments.  Since its inception in 1993, BVF has strived to build concentrated, long-term investments in small-cap biotechnology companies while performing rigorous diligence and on-going monitoring of its investments.  BVF is committed to working with its portfolio companies as partners in their successes.

Biotechnology Value Fund

Logos Capital is a fundamental biotechnology-focused fund that seeks to combine in-house data analytics with scientific and clinical expertise to identify transformative therapies in healthcare. Based in San Francisco, Logos combines expertise across medical, scientific, and statistical disciplines to expand the depth of diligence in identifying compelling investment ideas and uncorrelated-market returns. They combine scientific diligence with their statistical modeling of clinical trials to achieve the highest levels of conviction in each position.

Logos Capital

Amplitude Venture Capital deploys a growth model that has successfully been used to build Canadian companies with world-class management teams and scale companies to breakout potential. Since 2012 Amplitude's founding team has raised over $700 million of equity capital in private and public markets. Amplitude, with offices in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, launched its first private capital fund in November 2019, a $200-million fund that applies a proven, evidence-based approach to investing in leading Canadian precision medicine companies.

Amplitude Venture Capital

Repare Therapeutics

Repare Therapeutics is a developer of oncology drugs designed to target specific vulnerabilities of tumor cells. The company's drugs combine a proprietary high throughput gene-editing and target discovery method with high-resolution protein crystallography, computational biology and clinical informatics, enabling patients to improve cancer treatment both with single therapy and in combination with existing drugs and treatments.

<div>Repare Therapeutics is a clinical-stage precision oncology company focused on developing novel therapeutics using a synthetic lethality approach. The company utilizes its proprietary genome-wide, CRISPR-enabled SNIPRx platform to systematically discover and develop highly targeted cancer therapies that exploit genomic instability and DNA damage repair mechanisms. Repare's lead product candidate is lunresertib (RP-6306), a PKMYT1 inhibitor in Phase 1/2 clinical development for advanced solid tumors. The company is also advancing camonsertib (RP-3500/RG6526), an ATR inhibitor partnered globally with Roche, which is in Phase 1/2 trials. Repare's pipeline includes additional preclinical programs like RP-1664, a PLK4 inhibitor, and RP-3467, a Pol&theta; inhibitor. In early clinical data presented in 2023, the combination of lunresertib and camonsertib showed a 50% overall response rate in heavily pre-treated gynecological tumors. Camonsertib in combination with PARP inhibitors demonstrated a 48% clinical benefit rate across tumor types. As of January 2024, Repare had approximately USD 223 million in cash and equivalents, which is expected to fund operations into mid-2026.</div>

Synthetic Lethality Precision Oncology

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Lunresertib by Repare Therapeutics for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Likelihood of Approval

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

Tissue Targeting Therapeutics

Repare Therapeutics collaborates with U.S. National Cancer Institute (NASDAQ:RPTX)

National Cancer Institute

Entered into a cooperative R&D agreement (CRADA) with the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) of the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) attached to the US National Institutes of Health for the development of the anti-cancer agent camonsertib.

Bristol-Myers Squibb

BMS partnered with Century Therapeutics to leverage its CRISPR-based gene editing technology to develop new off-the-shelf cell therapies for cancer.

Reinventing gene therapies with next-generation technologies

Human Gene Editing

Companies that develop novel therapeutics based on the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing technology

BMS entered into a multi-target discovery collaboration with Repare Therapeutics to leverage the latter's SNIPR technology to identify novel oncology targets.

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 Repare Therapeutics is a clinical-stage precision oncology company focused on developing novel therapeutics using a synthetic lethality approach. The company utilizes its proprietary genome-wide, CRISPR-enabled SNIPRx platform to systematically discover and develop highly targeted cancer therapies that exploit genomic instability and DNA damage repair mechanisms. Repare's lead product candidate is lunresertib (RP-6306), a PKMYT1 inhibitor in Phase 1/2 clinical development for advanced solid tumors. The company is also advancing camonsertib (RP-3500/RG6526), an ATR inhibitor partnered globally with Roche, which is in Phase 1/2 trials. Repare's pipeline includes additional preclinical programs like RP-1664, a PLK4 inhibitor, and RP-3467, a Pol&theta; inhibitor. In early clinical data presented in 2023, the combination of lunresertib and camonsertib showed a 50% overall response rate in heavily pre-treated gynecological tumors. Camonsertib in combination with PARP inhibitors demonstrated a 48% clinical benefit rate across tumor types. As of January 2024, Repare had approximately USD 223 million in cash and equivalents, which is expected to fund operations into mid-2026.
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 
 Repare Therapeutics entered into a worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Roche in June 2022 for the development and commercialization of camonsertib. The deal included USD 125 million upfront and up to USD 1.2 billion in potential milestone payments to Repare. In October 2023, Roche dosed the first patient with camonsertib in a Phase 1 billion/2 trial combining it with immunotherapy for metastatic non-small cell lung cancer. Repare also announced a partnership with Debiopharm in January 2024 to evaluate the combination of Debiopharm's WEE1 inhibitor Debio 0123 with lunresertib, with a trial expected to start in the first half of 2024.
 
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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

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

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 Repare Therapeutics, a clinical-stage oncology therapeutics developer, has partnered with the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP) under the US National Cancer Institute (NCI) for the research and development of camonsertib, a potential anti-cancer agent. The purpose of this partnership is to enhance the investigation into the therapeutic potential of camonsertib.
 The ongoing studies have revealed promising results, indicating significant anti-tumor activity of camonsertib and its contribution to the prolonged survival of non-small cell lung cancer patients. The research team aims to conduct combination trials of camonsertib with various radiation therapies and identify predictive biomarkers. This could lead to better cancer treatment strategies.
 Repare Therapeutics employs its proprietary genome-wide, CRISPR-enabled SNIPRx platform to develop targeted cancer treatments focusing on genomic instability and DNA damage repair. The company's primary product candidate is the drug camonsertib, is currently undergoing a Phase II trial for non-small-cell lung cancer. Repare Therapeutics is also developing lunresertib, a PKMYT1 inhibitor, which is currently in Phase I/II trials for various solid tumors.
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Repare Therapeutics

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