Eli Lilly & Company Foundation

Novel therapies to reboot cells and organs

Cell & Gene Therapy

Capstan Therapeutics is a biotechnology company dedicated to advancing in vivo reprogramming of cells through RNA delivery using targeted lipid nanoparticles (tLNP) technology. The company's proprietary CellSeeker tLNP platform consists of lipid nanoparticles conjugated with a recombinant protein binder, such as a monoclonal antibody, designed to deliver payloads including mRNA or gene editing tools capable of reprogramming specific cell types in vivo. Through this platform, Capstan aims to create therapies that can program immune cells directly inside the body rather than engineering them in a lab. The company's lead candidate, CPTX2309, delivers an mRNA payload encoding for an anti-CD19 CAR to CD8-expressing T cells, effectively engineering CAR-T cells in vivo. The therapeutic goal is to achieve rapid deep B cell depletion in both blood and lymphoid tissues, without the challenges of conventional ex vivo CAR-T. preclinical data presented in October 2023 demonstrated rapid and robust anti-tumor and anti-primary B cell activity in humanized mice through tLNP administration delivering mRNA that encodes an anti-CD19 CAR. Capstan's technology has the potential to generate transformative therapies with applications across autoimmune disorders, oncology, fibrosis, and monogenic blood disorders.The company's approach could make cell therapy more efficient and potentially less costly to manufacture compared to current ex vivo CAR-T therapies. With in vivo CAR-T, patients would not need chemotherapy preconditioning, and treatments could potentially be administered in an outpatient clinic setting rather than requiring specialized centers.Key customers and partnershipsIn March 2024, Capstan formed multiple new partnerships with investors including Forbion, Johnson &amp; Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Mubadala Capital, Perceptive Advisors, and Sofinnova Investments. The company has also maintained ongoing partnerships with existing investors including Alexandria Venture Investments, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Leaps by Bayer, Novartis Venture Fund, OrbiMed, Pfizer Ventures, Polaris Partners, and Vida Ventures.

Strand Therapeutics is a developer of mRNA gene-based therapies to treat patients diagnosed with diseases such as melanoma, solid tumors, breast cancer, lung cancer, and hematological diseases. The company claims to have developed the world’s first mRNA programming language, which allows for its mRNA therapeutics to be embedded with logic that enables them to identify what cell types they are in and to then follow a pre-programmed course of action. As of May 2024, the company had one self-replicating mRNA candidate for the treatment of melanoma, breast cancer, and other solid tumors that was in the investigational new drug application (IND) enabling stage of clinical study. Additionally, Strand had five other therapeutic candidates in the preclinical development stages that aimed at treating lung cancer, other solid tumors, and hematological malignancies.

S onoThera is a biotechnology company that develops novel gene therapies for various diseases using ultrasound-guided nonviral delivery. The company’s main therapeutics are based on the sonoporation technology, which uses microbubbles and ultrasound to deliver nucleic acid payloads to the patient’s own cells, activating a therapeutic response. The company claims that their ultrasound-guided nonviral gene delivery platform is the first of its kind.As of May 2024, the company had not disclosed its clinical pipeline.Key customers and partnershipsThe company partnered with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, part of the Johnson &amp; Johnson group, in May 2023 to collaborate on developing a novel approach for delivering DNA- and RNA-based nucleic acid-based therapeutics through the use of SonoThera's ultrasound-guided nonviral gene delivery platform.

Artificial intelligence is identifying and testing new therapies faster than ever.

AI Drug Discovery

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 Fountain Therapeutics operates an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered platform that seeks to develop therapeutics aimed at reversing cellular aging and preventing age-related diseases. The platform features an AI-based drug screening system and animal models for disease modeling and preclinical testing.
 
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 Zephyr AI is a drug discovery and precision medicine company that leverages AI and machine learning (ML) technologies to assist pharmaceutical companies with deep insights to expedite the drug development process. The company uses a unique three-pronged approach that integrates multi-dimensional datasets, transparent AI, and structured biological network-based analyses, to work together in generating insights.&nbsp;
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s healthcare datasets leverage a variety of sources including electronic health records, medical imaging data, and clinical trial data, gathered via partnerships with payers, providers, and pharma companies. It also develops its proprietary datasets to be used with its AI/ML algorithms. It has so far identified more than 100 novel drug targets and several dozens of possible ways of drug repurposing. In May 2021, the company published its first discovery demonstrating antibiotic azithromycin&mdash;a medication used for several bacterial infections&mdash;as a potential treatment for lung cancer.&nbsp;
 
 
 Currently, Zephyr only licenses its platform to drug developers and pharmaceutical companies. However, it has hinted at the possibility of discovering and developing its own drugs.
 
 
 Founded in 2020, Zephyr AI 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/6876">
 emerged from stealth
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 in November 2021 followed by a 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/9476">
 seed funding round in March 2022
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 that raised USD 18.5 million. The funds will be used to advance its AI capabilities and grow its healthcare datasets. 
 
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Leveraging personal data for custom-fit diagnosis and treatment

Precision Medicine

Zephyr AI is a bioinformatics company that leverages AI and machine learning (ML) technologies to help pharmaceutical companies gain insights in order to expedite the drug development process. These insights are generated using a unique three-pronged approach that combines multi-dimensional datasets, transparent AI, and structured biological network-based analyses. Currently, Zephyr only licenses its platform to drug developers and pharmaceutical companies. However, it has hinted at the possibility of discovering and developing its own drugsThe company’s healthcare datasets leverage a variety of sources including electronic health records, medical imaging data, and clinical trial data, gathered via partnerships with payers, providers, and pharma companies. Its proprietary datasets are used with its AI/ML algorithms to identify novel drug targets and the platform has so far pinpointed several drug targets and dozens of possible ways of drug repurposing. In May 2021, the company published its first discovery demonstrating antibiotic azithromycin—a medication used for several bacterial infections—as a potential treatment for lung cancer.Key customers and partnerships<a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17141">In March 2023 </a>, the company announced a multi-year collaboration with healthcare technology company KangarooHealth to create a tool that can predict health outcomes for patients with chronic conditions. Funding and financials Founded in 2020, Zephyr AI emerged from stealth in November 2021 followed by a seed funding round in March 2022 that raised USD 18.5 million. The funds will be used to advance its AI capabilities and grow its healthcare datasets.

Targeting complex diseases with complex molecules

Large-molecule Therapeutics

Elektrofi is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on developing innovative drug formulation and delivery technologies. The company's breakthrough formulation platform addresses the long-standing need for stabilized, highly concentrated biologics through a proprietary microparticle technology. This technology enables small-volume injections for monoclonal antibodies, therapeutic proteins, and other large molecule drugs, offering significant advantages over traditional intravenous administration methods.
Elektrofi's platform has the potential to revolutionize the treatment landscape across various disease areas and indications. By enabling patient-friendly subcutaneous administration of biologic therapies, the company aims to enhance convenience, reduce healthcare costs, and improve access to life-changing medicines. The technology can transform intravenously administered therapies into convenient, ready-to-use formulations suitable for self-administration at home.
In June 2022, Elektrofi raised USD 40 million in a Series B financing round, which will be used to establish a centralized GMP manufacturing line to support upcoming clinical trials and expand the company's development pipeline. As of June 2022, Elektrofi aimed to double its headcount within the next 12-18 months to accelerate the development of its licensed programs with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners.
Key customers and partnerships
Elektrofi has formed strategic partnerships and collaborations with several leading pharmaceutical companies, including Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, Argenx, and Janssen biotech. In January 2024, Elektrofi and Janssen biotech entered into a worldwide collaboration and license agreement to develop up to five programs utilizing Elektrofi's formulation technology, with an initial focus on an oncology asset for at-home self-administration.

TRexBio is a biotechnology company that leverages cutting-edge computational biology tools, a focus on human tissue, and expertise in immunobiology to develop therapeutics for cancer and inflammatory diseases. Its 'deep biology' discovery engine maps human tissue Treg behavior to disease processes, identifying and characterizing novel targets for therapeutic intervention. The platform supports the development of a portfolio of therapies that modulate the immune system to restore tissue immune homeostasis.

Arda Therapeutics is a biotechnology company taking aim at chronic diseases and aging by eliminating the pathogenic cells that drive these conditions. Their approach starts by using single-cell data to identify pathogenic cells and specific markers to target them. They then design therapies to eliminate these - and only these - cells. Arda was founded in 2021 in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA.

Elektrofi is a preclinical-stage company dedicated to redefining the standard of drug delivery by transforming the patient experience. Elektrofi’s formulation system can effectively process a wide range of therapeutic molecules. Their technology has the capacity to process large, increasingly complex and delicate proteins including monoclonal antibodies, bispecifics and fusion proteins. Founded in 2016, Elektrofi is based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States.

Artax Biopharma is a development-stage biopharmaceutical company that is dedicated to the development of new therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Its technology provides the compounds with the potential to become first-in-class immunomodulators for the treatment of a wide range of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The company was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Ajax Therapeutics is an NYC-based biotechnology company applying computational chemistry and structure-based technologies to develop novel small molecules for hematologic malignancies

Capstan Therapeutics is advancing precision in vivo cell engineering to develop therapeutics for a broad range of disease categories with unmet or underserved clinical need.

Zephyr AI is a high-growth healthcare technology company committed to radically reshaping traditional approaches to drug discovery and precision medicine. Zephyr AI collaborates with top health systems, health insurance plans, and biotechnology innovators to enhance Quality, Outcomes, and Costs.

Trans Solutions Research and Resource Center empowers transgender and gender communities.

Mediar is a pre-clinical stage biotechnology company developing therapeutics for the treatment of fibrosis. Its therapeutics target key fibrotic mediator proteins that aid in the development of fibrosis in chronically-damaged organs. The company was founded in 2019 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Switch Therapeutics is a biotech company that develops RNAi therapies based on technology. The company was founded in 2020 and is based in San Francisco, California, United States.

PrescriberPoint is “Kayak” for prescribers looking for an easier, one-stop-shop way to get their patients on therapy who may be facing complex coverage, affordability and patient start challenges.  We are disrupting the $100Bn+ the pharma industry spends on healthcare providers (HCPs) which includes HCP marketing, field teams and hub-services. Our goal is to build an alternative to these fragmented, pharma-centric solutions with an HCP-centric, aggregation-based approach. Our marketplace platform aggregates all the resources HCPs need for the over 35k marketed drugs in the US to look up and evaluate a drug, research and find coverage and affordability options for patients, order samples and take other actions to get patients started on therapy.  Our AI and software tools provide decision-support and workflow automation to cut down on the two days a week doctors offices report they spend dealing with these bureaucratic challenges.  As a “connector” platform, like other aggregators like Kayak, Zillow and Cars.com, we are making it easy for HCPs to tap into other solutions across the prescribing journey that can help facilitate patient starts such as RTBI, ePA and pharmacy offerings. Our solution is free for HCPs. Our business model relies on charging pharma brands a monthly subscription fee for premium services designed to help targeted HCPs take advantage of the content, tools and services offered through the brand’s PrescriberPoint “microsite”.

SonoThera is a biotechnology company that creates non-viral genetic therapies using ultrasound. Its mission is to develop genetic medicines that treat the root cause of human disease. SonoThera is expanding the possibilities of disease treatment with ultrasound-guided nonviral gene therapy for diseases with suboptimal or non-existent treatments. It aims to improve the lives and health of millions of people.

Strand Therapeutics is a developer of a biotechnology platform intended to create gene therapies powered by synthetic biology.The company's offerings include immunotherapies to help cells produce target cancer-killing proteins during immunotherapy, enabling patients to improve their body's immune system to fight cancer.

Photys Therapeutics’ proprietary bifunctional small molecules platform unlocks fine-tuned control of protein post-translational modifications, going beyond degradation to restore protein function, repair signaling, and amplify endogenous disease-fighting mechanisms. Photys was co-founded by the Broad Institute’s leading bifunctional chemist, Amit Choudhary, and the Longwood Fund, alongside a scientific advisory board comprised of distinguished scientists and drug developers – MIT’s Angela Koehler, Salk’s Tony Hunter, Berkeley’s Dan Nomura, MPM’s Wendy Young, and Dana Farber’s Eric Fischer.

Fountain Therapeutics is discovering and developing treatments for aging-associated diseases. Fountain Therapeutics was founded with the belief that a future in which we live healthier lives longer is more desirable than one in which the company continues to be afflicted by the disease of aging. The company builds a transformative model of aging that re-creates many of the complex hallmark features of aging but in a laboratory dish. We are combining this powerful cellular model with the latest in artificial intelligence and computer vision to develop a disruptive unbiased platform for the identification of novel targets and potential therapeutics.

Circle Pharma is an early-stage biotechnology company applying proprietary computational design algorithms and innovative chemistry to develop cell-permeable macrocycle peptide therapeutics against important clinical targets. It does this through an iterative, rational design process that deploys large virtual libraries of conformationally diverse macrocycle scaffolds selected for inherent permeability. The company was founded by Matt Jacobson and Scott Lokey in 2012 and is headed by David J. Earp.

VectorY is a fully integrated gene therapy company specializing in the development of novel therapeutics such as vectorized antibodies for both CNS and somatic disorders, with a particular emphasis on muscle diseases. It combines the therapeutic potential of antibodies and gene therapy to create long-term therapeutic solutions for large disease areas with significant unmet medical need. VectorY was founded in the Amsterdam Science Park in August 2020.

Amphista Therapeutics operates as a biopharmaceutical  company creating first-in-class cancer therapeutics that harness the body's natural processes to selectively and efficiently degrade and remove disease causing proteins.

Indianapolis Cultural Trail operates as a 501c3 nonprofit organization that engages in urban trails and linear parks and is committed to a sustainable funding model that ensures accessible connections for future generations.

Leap Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company and specializes in the development of targeted and immuno-oncology therapeutics. Leap Therapeutic focus is to identify translational-stage molecules in the areas of cell signaling and immuno-oncology.

MacroGenics, Inc., a biotechnology company, focuses on the development, manufacture, and commercialization of immunotherapeutics for autoimmune disorders, cancer, and infectious diseases.  The company is developing immune-based products, including monoclonal antibodies; and vaccines to prevent infections in healthy individuals. The company's Fc engineering technology enables to improve antibody functions to eliminate cancer cells. It is also developing products around the Dual Activating ReTargeting technology.  The company was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.

Eli Lilly & Company Foundation is an organization that supports programs designed to improve patient outcomes and enhance the quality of life. The organization makes strategic and philanthropic investments consistent with Lilly’s purpose. It also supports improving educational opportunities for children living in underserved communities in Indianapolis.  Eli Lilly & Company Foundation focuses on early childhood education, supporting quality schools and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education.  The foundation was established in 1968 and is based in Indianapolis, Indiana.

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