Leaps by Bayer invests in paradigm-shifting advances in the life sciences and specializes in the fields of biotechnology, agriculture, and scientific breakthrough. The firm's approach is making significant and sustained investments in disruptive biotechnologies that could have the greatest impact on humanity. It was founded in 2015 and headquartered in Leverkusen, Nordrhein-Westfalen.

Leaps by Bayer

Pear is an early-stage venture fund founded by Pejman Nozad and Mar Hershenson. Their co-founding managers have historically seeded very early stage tech start-ups such as Doordash, Guardant Health, Gusto, Viz.ai, Dropbox, Lending Club, Vanta, Zoosk, Addepar, Path and many others. Their motto is simple: they invest in exceptional founders who are building amazing companies. They utilize every resource they have to assist their founders and entrepreneurs shape the future.

Pear VC

New Enterprise Associates is a prominent venture capital firm focusing on investments in technology and healthcare startups. They help entrepreneurs build transformational businesses across multiple stages, sectors, and geographies. With over $19 billion in cumulative committed capital since the firm’s founding in 1977, NEA invests in technology and healthcare companies at all stages in a company’s lifecycle, from the seed stage through the IPO. The firm's long track record of successful investing includes more than 210 portfolio company IPOs and more than 360 acquisitions.

New Enterprise Associates

Menlo Ventures provides capital for multi-stage consumer, enterprise, and life sciences technology companies. Since 1976, the firm’s market-driven analysis has led to the identification of opportunities and successful investments in innovative markets. Notable areas of investment include Marketplaces (Uber, Rover.com, Poshmark); Consumer Services (Tumblr, Betterment, Roku, Siri); Dev/Ops (Harness, Edge Delta, Fire hydrant); SaaS (Carta, ScoutRFP, Qualia, Benchling, Everlaw); Fintech (Betterment, Bluevine, Chime); Cybersecurity (Cavium, IronPort, BitSight, Abnormal, StackRox); and Life Sciences Technology (Synthego, Cofactor Genomics, Recursion Pharmaceuticals, 3T Biosciences). Menlo’s portfolio includes more than 70 public companies, and more than 100 mergers and acquisitions, with $5 billion under management. The firm is currently investing in Menlo Ventures XV, a $500 million early-stage fund, as well as its $500 million Inflection Fund, which targets early-growth investments.

Menlo Ventures

Allen & Company is a family-owned investment and advisory firm. The firm advises on M&A and capital raises, with an emphasis on the technology, media, healthcare, and sports sectors. Allen & Company was established in 1932 and is headquartered in New York, United States.

Allen & Company

Lux Capital manages over $5 billion in assets focused on founding, seed, early-stage, and growth investments at the intersection of technology and the sciences. Lux takes an active role in helping entrepreneurs build successful businesses in high-growth sectors. Its investment team has built over 20 companies from scratch. Lux's investment strategy ensures portfolio companies are better connected, have a deeper insight, and command industry leadership faster than their competitors.

Lux Capital

Omega Funds is a venture capital firm that seeks to invest in the life sciences, digital health, immunology, rare diseases, precision medicine, oncology, cybersecurity, and SaaS sectors.

Omega Funds

Amgen Ventures is a venture capital investment arm of Amgen Inc. specializing in investments in early and later stage companies. The firm primarily invests in the biotechnology sector with a focus on discovering and developing human therapeutics with a focus on oncology, inflammation, hematology, nephrology, metabolic disorders, neuroscience, and cardiovascular therapeutics. In oncology and hematology it focuses on novel therapeutics including signal transduction, cell cycle, and apoptosis; hematopoiesis including anemia, neutropenia, and stem cell mobilization; and supportive care including mucositis and cachexia. In nephrology the firm focuses on renal failure and hyperparathyroidism. For inflammation the firm focuses on rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, asthma and COPD, and osteoarthritis. Under cardiovascular, it focuses on acute coronary syndromes, dyslipidemia, and heart failure and under metabolic disorders it focuses on diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and osteoporosis. The focus on neuroscience included pain including neuropathic and inflammatory, alzheimer's disease, parkinson's disease, sleep disorder, cognition, and schizophrenia. In discovery research and technology the firm focuses on early-stage drug discovery collaborations, innovative chemical entity collections, diagnostics and biomarkers, novel antibody platforms, assay biologicals and devices, and target-focused structural biology and computational tools. It primarily invests in the North America, Europe, and the United Kingdom. The firm typically invests between $2 million and $3 million per transaction and may invest up to $10 million per company. It prefers to have an ownership stake of less than 15 % in its portfolio companies. Amgen Ventures was founded in 2004 and is based in San Francisco, California with additional offices in Seattle, Washington; Thousand Oaks, California; and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Amgen Ventures

8VC enables industry transformation. In a wave of creative destruction, they believe emerging platforms will replace the decades-old technology infrastructure behind many industries, promoting greater innovation and prosperity.

Lifeforce Capital invests in digital health companies enabling new care delivery models or more efficient therapeutic development. Lifeforce Capital is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Lifeforce Capital

Evolution VC Partners invest and partner with disruptive companies with a strong team, product, and market opportunity.  They help entrepreneurs build great companies and consider themselves to be investment accelerators and will seek to be active creators of value for their portfolio companies.

Evolution VC Partners

Nest.Bio Ventures takes a deep science, cross-border approach to translating breakthrough science into revolutionary companies.

Nest.Bio Ventures

Private investment firm investing in technology and biotech companies across USA and Asia from early-stage to pre-IPO

Goodman Capital

Intel Capital invests in innovative startups targeting cloud and AI infrastructure, edge, 5G, autonomy, cybersecurity, client & gaming, enterprise applications, silicon design and manufacturing, and a wide range of other disruptive technologies.

Intel Capital

Sand Hill Angels is a group of Silicon Valley angel investors passionate about helping entrepreneurs get to the next level. What makes the group unique is the collective experience of its members building and scaling deep technology companies. The group has been around for more than two decades. Sand Hill Angels works openly and collaboratively with venture capital funds, other angel organizations, and the Bay Area ecosystem that fosters the growth of technology startups.  For additional information, visit www.sandhillangels.com or follow @SandHillAngels.com on Twitter.

Sand Hill Angels

Ridgeback Capital is a private investment firm that focuses on private and public companies in the life sciences sector. The company was founded in 2006 by Dr. Holman and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Ridgeback Capital

Matrix Partners China builds long-term relationships with entrepreneurs and helps them build significant, industry-leading companies. Since its inception in 1977, Matrix Partners China has made hundreds of investments and played an active role in the development of many successful businesses, 50 of which went on to IPO, and 75 of which have gone on to profitable M&A events. The firm consistently ranks in the top venture firms in terms of returns to its investors. Matrix Partners China combines local knowledge with global experience and vision. Its team consists of both former entrepreneurs and experienced investors. Its past successes include Focus Media, Eachnet, and Baidu, among others. The company invests across multiple sectors and stages.

Matrix Partners China

Gaingels is a venture investment syndicate in service of the LGBT+ community and its allies, investing in companies with LGBT+ founders and C-suite leaders at all stages of growth, as well as in more established companies resolved on building more inclusive teams, with a global portfolio of 130+ companies and $70M in deployed investment capital to date.  The Gaingels network also actively supports its portfolio in identifying and recruiting diverse talent to their C-suite and board leadership teams and fosters a vibrant global community of industry leaders, investors, operators, and entrepreneurs who share a common goal for positive social change through business and successful investments.

Gaingels

Alexandria Venture Investments is a venture capital firm that develops work in real estate technology, and healthcare sectors. The company's strategic venture capital platform is Alexandria Venture Investments. Since its inception in 1996, the company has invested in disruptive life science, agrifood tech, and technology companies that are developing transformative new modalities and platforms to meaningfully improve human health.

Alexandria Venture Investments

Smilegate Investment, founded in 1999 originally as MVP Capital, is a venture capital and private equity firm that grows remarkably alongside invested companies.  Since initial venture capital funding in 2000, the firm has since organized and managed more than 30 venture capital and private equity funds and has invested in more than 200 companies with promising growth potential.

Smilegate Investment

LifeSci Venture Partners is an early-stage investment firm that invests in early-stage life sciences and healthcare companies. The firm provides companies in the life sciences industry with comprehensive solutions to communications and investor outreach. Their investment principals have broad-ranging life sciences experience including public and private investing, deal structuring, investment banking, equity capital markets, equity research, and bench research both basic science and applied.

LifeSci Venture Partners

Founded in 1990, KB Investment Co., Ltd. (KBIC) is one of Korea’s leading investment firms of venture capital and private equity funds with over USD 2.6 Billion of asset under management as of December 2023. KBIC is a subsidiary of KB Financial Group, Korea’s premier financial group with the largest domestic customer base as well as the widest network of service branches in Korea. KBIC’s team is recognized for industry thought leadership, a broad network of powerful industry relationships, and a unique professional investment approach to investing. KBIC passionately support our portfolio companies with active guidance in all key aspects of team building, strategy, operations and governance

KB Investment

South Korean investment firm, headquartered in Seoul.

Mirae Asset Capital

10X invests across the capital structure, alongside the world's top technology investors. They align Wall Street and Silicon Valley by bringing institutional capital to high growth ventures in private and public markets, helping founders and investors achieve scale and liquidity while retaining upside and control. 10X was founded in 2004 and is based in  New York.

10X Capital

Noveus Capital is a venture capital firm.

Noveus Capital

Bossa Invest manages investment portfolios and provides asset management services to clients. It analyzes market trends to inform investment decisions. Bossa Invest serves multiple sectors, including finance, technology, and real estate.

Bossa Invest

Deep Tech Venture Capital firm. We invest in AI, Robotics, Life Sciences, Tech Infrastructure, Advanced Materials and others. Deep Tech is where Science meets Technology. Deep tech companies are building a better future, thanks to entrepreneurs, researchers, scientists, engineers, academics, and subject matter experts who develop new algorithms, models, systems, devices and products.

GRIDS Capital

Green Sands Equity is a boutique private equity investment firm focused on Growth Capital, Investment Advisory and Strategic Buyouts.

Green Sands Equity

Senti Biosciences

Senti Biosciences is a biotechnology company focused on synthetic biology and gene circuit engineering for therapeutic applications. Senti Bio utilizes a synthetic biology platform named Gene Circuits to develop therapies that offer improved precision and control. These circuits are engineered to selectively eliminate cancer cells while sparing healthy ones, enhancing specificity for target cells, and regulating drug expression post-administration.

Senti Biosciences is a developer of cell therapies for oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular diseases, regenerative medicine, and genetic diseases. The company uses DNA sequences to design and optimize gene circuits in cells to reprogram and edit cell circuits to target particular diseases using chimeric antigen receptor natural killer cells (CAR-NK cells), gene therapies, and cell therapies. The company is listed on the Nasdaq and trades under the ticker symbol SNTI.

Novel therapies to reboot cells and organs

Cell & Gene Therapy

Senti Biosciences Inc trading resumes

Bayer

To develop cell therapies using BlueRock’s iPSC platform and Senti Biosciences's gene circuits.

Stem cell therapy involves using stem cells usually extracted from the bone marrow and umbilical cord blood to repair a variety of diseases

Roche

To enter a collaboration and option agreement with Senti Biosciences, a leading gene circuit company, to apply Senti Bio’s gene circuit technology to the development of next-generation precision gene therapies directed toward specific cell types in the central nervous system (CNS), eye, or liver.

Companies conducting R&D on therapies that modify or introduce new genes into the body to treat diseases

Senti Biosciences is a developer of cell therapies for oncology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular diseases, regenerative medicine, and genetic diseases. The company uses DNA sequences to design and optimize gene circuits in cells to reprogram and edit cell circuits to target particular diseases using chimeric antigen receptor natural killer cells (CAR-NK cells), gene therapies, and cell therapies. The company is listed on the Nasdaq and trades under the ticker symbol SNTI. As of May 2024, the company had one therapeutic candidate for the treatment of Acute myeloid leukemia, Myelodysplastic syndromes, and other blood cancers. Its candidate for blood cancer was in early clinical stages. The company additionally had three partner therapeutics it was developing: 1) SENTI-301A for the treatment of liver cancer (in partnership with Celest); 2) multiple gene therapy programs to treat eye diseases, central nervous diseases, and liver diseases (in partnership with Roche and Spark Therapeutics); and 3) multiple stem cell regenerative therapy programs (in partnership with Bayer and Blue Rock Therapeutics). Key customers and partnerships As of September 2023, the company had two therapeutic collaboration programs to develop a therapeutic for regenerative medicine with BlueRock Therapeutics (a member of the Bayer group) and a therapeutic for eye, central nervous system (CNS), and liver disease with Spark Therapeutics (a member of the Roche group). The collaboration agreements were signed with Bayer in May 2021 and with Roche in April 2021.In November 2023, the company partnered with China-based biotechnology company Celest Therapeutics to develop SENTI-301A in China. Through the partnership, Celest agreed to lead clinical development, operations, and manufacturing for the advancement of SENTI-301A while receiving technical support from Senti Bio. Senti Bio was eligible to receive up to $156 million in certain milestone payments, in addition to potential tiered royalty payments.

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 Tenaya Therapeutics is a developer of therapeutics for heart disease. The company develops its therapeutics using precision medicine, gene therapy, and cellular regeneration. Tenaya produces therapeutics that also use proprietary in-vivo and in-vitro models. Additionally, the company has developed in-house adeno-associated virus (AAV) capsid engineering capabilities and has screened over one billion variants from more than 30 diverse, proprietary AAV libraries. The company is publicly listed on the Nasdaq and trades under the ticker symbol TNYA.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 In October 2023 Tenaya Therapeutics (Tenaya) received FDA clearance for the company&rsquo;s investigational new drug application (TN-401) to initiate clinical testing. TN-401 is Tenaya&rsquo;s adeno-associated virus serotype 9-based investigational gene therapy drug candidate for the treatment of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy caused by mutations in the plakophilin-2 gene. 
 
 
 As of May 2024, the company&rsquo;s clinical pipeline included two candidates in Phase I clinical trials, a gene therapeutic for the treatment of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, and a small molecule inhibitor for the treatment of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Additionally, Tenaya had one gene therapy candidate and two genetic medicine candidates in preclinical testing phases, along with five genetic medicine candidates in the discovery stage. 
 
 
 
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Tenaya Therapeutics

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 Sarepta Therapeutics is a gene therapy provider for conditions such as Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy 
 (LGMD), and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease. The company&rsquo;s therapeutics incorporate technology related to gene therapy, RNA technologies, and gene editing. The company leverages a proprietary phosphorodiamidate morpholino oligomer (PMO) platform for the development of its RNA-based therapeutics. As of August 2023, the company had four FDA-approved treatments for DMD: ELEVIDYS, EXONDYS 51, VYONDYS 53, and AMONDYS 45. Sarepta Therapeutics is also listed on the Nasdaq, trading under the symbol SRPT.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 As of May 2024, the company had several RNA, gene, and gene editing therapeutics in various clinical stages. Sarepta had two RNA therapeutics, both for the treatment of DMD, one in clinical testing, and the other in pre-clinical testing. Additionally, the company had six gene therapeutics, one for the treatment of DMD (both in clinical testing), four for the treatment of LGMD (three in clinical testing, one in preclinical testing) and one for multiple targets (in preclinical testing). Also, Sarepta had two gene editing-based therapeutics in development for the treatment of DMD, both in preclinical testing phases. 
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 Over the years since its founding, Sarepta has partnered with several industry and academic partners. The list includes Dyno Therapeutics, Genethon, Genevant Sciences, Hansa Biopharma, Roche, Columbia University, Harvard University, Translational Laboratory of Murdoch University, University of Florida College of Medicine, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children&rsquo;s Hospital, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and the University of Western Australia.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 In October 2021, Sarepta and healthcare giant Roche announced they would collaborate on carrying out a clinical study of Sarepta&rsquo;s therapeutic candidate SRP-9001 for the treatment of DMD.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Sarepta and pharmaceutical company Catalent announced that in January 2023, the companies were signing a commercial supply agreement. Through the agreement,&nbsp; Catalent would manufacture Sarepta&rsquo;s gene therapeutic for the treatment of DMD; delandistrogene moxeparvovec (SRP-9001).
 
 
 
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Sarepta Therapeutics

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 Mesoblast is a cell therapy manufacturer that provides therapeutics for oncology, cardiovascular, orthopedic, hematology, immunity, and inflammation-related conditions. The company is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and trades under the ticker symbol &ldquo;MSB.&rdquo; Mesoblast develops therapeutics using its proprietary mesenchymal lineage cell technology platform, which is used to produce cryopreserved, off-the-shelf, and cellular-based solutions. The company also incorporates 3D bioreactor technology and automation into its production process to produce higher yields.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 As of May 2024, the company had five candidates that are in various stages of clinical testing. Mesoblast&rsquo;s steroid-refractory candidate for Acute Graft Versus Host Disease is currently in late-stage Phase III clinical testing and is the closest candidate to commercialization. The company&rsquo;s drug candidates for acute respiratory distress syndrome, chronic low back pain, and chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction are also in Phase III clinical testing while its candidate for inflammatory bowel disease is in Phase II of clinical testing.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 
 
 The company has secured several agreements with international companies with regard to development and commercialization of Mesoblast&rsquo;s candidates, including Gr&uuml;nenthal GmBH, JCR Pharmaceuticals, Tasly Pharmaceutical Group, TiGenix NV, and the Lonza Group.&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 Additionally, in April 2020, Mesoblast partnered with The US NIH&rsquo;s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to conduct testing of its allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) product candidate, &ldquo;remestemcel-L.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 
 
 
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Mesoblast

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 Ocugen is a gene therapy manufacturer that develops vaccine, cell, and gene-based therapeutics for infectious, eye, and orthopedic diseases. Its cell therapy includes a three dimensional tissue-engineered cartilage disk through the growth of chondrocytes &ndash; the cells responsible for maintaining cartilage health. Its gene therapy solution consists of creating a copy of the patient&rsquo;s gene in order to replace mutated/damaged genes. The company is publicly listed on the Nasdaq, and trades under the symbol &lsquo;OCGN&rsquo;.&nbsp;
 
 
 As of May 2024, the company had five therapeutic solutions being clinically tested. The company was developing four gene therapies for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa, Leber congenital amaurosis, geographic atrophy, and orphan disease. Its treatment candidate for retinitis pigmentosa was in Phase III of clinical study, while its other gene therapies were in Phase I/II. 
 Ocugen was also developing a biological material, in the IND stage, for diabetic macular edema, diabetic retinopathy, and wet age-related macular degeneration. The company's cell therapy for the treatment of articular cartilage defects in the knee was in Phase III of clinical study. Finally, the company was also developing three vaccines, all in IND stages, for prevention of diseases caused by the flu, Covid-19, and a combination of the flu and Covid-19.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Ocugen partnered with biopharmaceutical manufacturer Jubilant HollisterStier of Spokane in June 2021 to manufacture its Covid-19 therapeutic COVAXIN. Through the partnership, Jubilant would be the potential commercial manufacturer of Ocugen&rsquo;s vaccine for the US and Canadian markets.
 
 
 
 
 
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Ocugen

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 MeiraGTx is a developer of gene therapies that aim to treat ocular diseases and problems, neurodegenerative disorders, and salivary gland and autoimmune disorders. MeriaGTx is also developing riboswitch-inducible expression programs for the treatment of inherited obesity and Wilson disease, along with producing small-molecule riboswitch inducers. The company is listed on the Nasdaq and trades under the symbol MGTX.&nbsp;&nbsp;
 
 
 As of May 2024, the company had four gene-based therapeutic candidates in Phase II of their clinical trials for the treatment of (1) xerostomia, Parkinson's Disease, and RPE65-Associated retinal dystrophy and (2) achromatopsia. The company also had one therapeutic being developed to treat Sjogren&rsquo;s Syndrome that was in Phase I/II of its clinical trials. Additionally, MeiraGTx had seven other therapeutics in discovery/preclinical stages. The company was also developing a therapeutic for X-linked retinitis pigmentosa in collaboration with Janssen, which was in Phase III of clinical trials. 
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 MeiraGTx partnered with the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM) in November 2022 to influence risk agendas, raise awareness, the standards of risk, and safety management across the industry.&nbsp;
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 Meira last raised funds in October 2023, when the company secured a strategic investment of USD 30 million from Sanofi. As part of the transaction, Sanofi was granted the right of first negotiation for MeiraGTx's gene regulation technology in certain targets.&nbsp;
 
 
 
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MeiraGTx

Companies producing cells, genes, tissues, and biomaterials such as exosomes and extracellular matrix for drug developers and pharmaceutical companies developing regenerative medicine

Chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapy involves genetically engineering T cells to target and kill cancer cells

Includes therapies that use cells (other than CAR-T and stem cells) such as Adipose-Derived Regenerative Cells (ADRCs), cardiosphere-derived cells, and gamma delta T cells (GDT cells)

Startups in the hub consider individual patient profiles, involving variability in genes, environment, and lifestyle

Genomics helps understand the genetic information stored in the DNA to develop targeted treatments

PROMINENT_CATEGORY

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Senti Biosciences has started patient dosing for SN301A, a CAR-NK cell therapy, for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Mainland China. This trial is a joint effort with Celest Therapeutics for determining the safety of the therapy and its anti-tumor activity.
SN301A is a ready-to-use CAR-NK cell therapy that targets GPC3-expressing tumors. The therapy includes three weekly doses in a 28-day cycle after lymphodepletion conditioning. It uses a calibrated release interleukin-15 to stimulate immune cells, expand CAR-NK cells, persist and eliminate tumors.
 
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Senti Biosciences

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