Company Presentations
Affibody AB is a leading company in the development of affinity ligands and technologies for use in biotherapy and biotechnology. Within its Biotherapy division, Affibody develops therapeutic agents for use as biopharmaceuticals, for medical imaging and for therapeutic apheresis. The Biotechnology division commercializes Affibody® molecules for various biotechnology applications such as sample preparation, protein detection methods, in vitro diagnostics and separation of biomolecules.
A key component of Affibody's technology is the Affibody® molecule, a small robust protein which can be designed to bind to any other target protein. Affibody® molecules mimic the function of monoclonal antibodies and the unique properties of Affibody® molecules make them a superior choice for a wide range of biotechnological and biotherapeutic applications.
The business model balances short-term revenue with the prospects of long-term value. Affibody's current commercial partners include Agilent Technologies, Astra Tech, GE Healthcare, Asahi Kasei, Finnzymes and Mabtech.
Affibody was founded in 1998 by researchers from the Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. Among the owners of Affibody AB are the investment companies HealthCap, Schroder Ventures Life Sciences and Investor Growth Capital. Affibody is based on Stockholm, Sweden and has 50 employees.
Further information is found on: http://www.affibody.com/
Biolipox AB was founded in 2000 based on the discovery of a new family of aracidonic acid mediators,
the eoxins, by the Professors Hans-Erik Claesson and Magnus Björkholm at the Karolinska Institute. Aracidonic acids
are involved in inflammatory processes, in which the research of Biolipox has a world leading position. The company
has grown from a one-man company in 2000, to employing nearly 40 people today, and had revenue of SEK 147 million
in 2005.
The company´s research have so far generated three commercial projects. These involve drug candidates against
inflammatory pain, asthma, arthritis, and KOL. Biolipox has in addition in-licensed a drug candidate against Rinit,
and is currently finishing a clinical phase II study.
As a research based company, their strategy is to bring the drug candidates through clinical phase I or II,
followed by out-licensing of the candidates to external partners. In 2005 Biolipox made a partner agreement with
Boerhinger Ingelheim for the development of a new class of drugs against inflammatory diseases and pain. The
agreement received a lot of attention and is said to be one of the largest business agreements within the Swedish
biotech industry. A long-term collaboration also exists with the Karolinska Institute, and since 2005 Biolipox has
taken part in the Eicosanox program, a European research collaboration on aracidonic acid based mediators.
For further information, please visit www.biolipox.com,
or email info@biolipox.com.
Bionovo is an American publicly traded pharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing
drugs for women's health and cancer. Founded in 2002, and based in Emeryville, CA, Bionovo has developed into a
leader in systems-biology integration with candidates designed to address specific targets associated with the
regulation of pathological conditions.
The company is working simultaneously on two distinct discovery approaches; one focusing on pro-apoptotic agents
for cancer and the second, in the area of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMS), for treatment of severe
menopausal symptoms. Both approaches are highly selective and targeted to yield products that will effectively and
safely address these areas of high unmet need. The company's clinical development strategy leverages relationships
with key faculty at leading research institutions to conduct trials with recognized opinion leaders.
Strategic collaborations are an important part of Bionovos future plans for growth. Their business objectives
include building a rich product pipeline and working with potential partners to further develop and commercialize
candidates in the cancer and women's health areas.
Bionovo has a significant pipeline consisting of two lead candidates entering clinical phase II, and additional
compounds of interest with established safety profiles ready for further development. MF101 is an estrogen receptor
beta (ERb) selective agonist, and unlike currently available hormone therapies, does not activate the estrogen
receptor alpha (ERa), known to be implicated in tumor formation. MF101 is an oral drug designed for the treatment
of hot flashes and night sweats in peri-menopausal and menopausal women. The company's lead cancer candidate, BZL101,
received an IND and entered Phase I clinical testing rapidly due to its favourable safety profile. Early data from
a phase I clinical trial of BZL101 conducted at the University of California, San Francisco indicate that the drug
is well tolerated and safe to use.
For further information, please visit www.bionovo.com,
or email info@bionovo.com.
LinkMed AB was founded in 1998 to meet the acute need for development capital and management expertise
among emerging life science companies in Sweden. The company's business concept is to contribute both capital and
management expertise to its portfolio companies, enabling them to mature at a steady pace and ultimately yield a
favorable return on investment. Over time, we have developed a structured, proprietary model called the Venture
Management Concept – a term that reflects our commitment to providing hands-on management expertise. It means that
LinkMed takes, as a minimum, an active Board role in each of its investments and owns between 28-49 percent. In the
early startup phase, LinkMed provides hands-on management support. Later, as the company grows and matures, this
role becomes more of a strategic nature.
To assure the continued growth of our portfolio companies, we have assembled a broad network of medical and
managerial excellence. Areas of competence can be divided into two main sectors: The Corporate Operational
Functions (Board and Management Team) and the Venture Management Network (Business Network and Scientific Advisory
Board).
The LinkMed portfolio consists of nine life science companies, including biotechnology companies such as AbSorber,
AnaMar Medical, Biovator, IMED, NovaHep and Recopharma, and BioResonator, ONCOlog and SACS Medical within the
medial technology sector. Several of these are nearing the commercialization phase, while others are already
selling their products or services. Between them, these companies account for more than 50 different projects in a
wide range of therapeutic areas – from HIV and cancer to eye disease and allergies.
AbSorber was founded in 1999 based on inventions made by associate professor Jan Holgersson at
department for clinical immunology and associate professor Suchitra Holgersson at the transplantation unit at
Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, Sweden.
AbSorber are deloping products that will increase the possibility to perform more successful transplantations.
Their first product XM-ONE™ was launched during 2005 and is a kit which enables the rapid detection of any
anti-endothelial cell antibodies as well as antibodies to HLA class I and II antigens. This is particularly
important, because the endothelium is the first tissue that the patient's blood encounters.
AbSorber is also developing a product that enables the manufacture of artificial vessel grafts whose insides are
coated with the body's own endothelium. The whole of this technology is based on the use of pre-stages to
endothelial cells, in which the patient's own blood can be used to isolate the body's own endothelium.
Identification of this cell type also makes it possible to quickly replace the patient's own endothelium, for
example after balloon dilation of narrowed coronary vessels.
IMED AB develops human monoclonal antibodies (MABs) that can induce or block natural cell death
(apoptosis). The company was founded in 2001 based on innovations originating from research led by Professor
Francesca Chiodi at the Molecular and Tumour Biology Centre of the Karolinska Institute in Solna, Sweden.
One of the most important mechanisms for apoptosis is via the Fas molecule. The Fas molecule sends signals that
result in cell death when the Fas is bound to its natural ligand, the Fas ligand (Fas L). Ever since the discovery
of the Fas protein, it has been associated with the pathogenesis of various illnesses such as cancer, HIV/AIDS,
rheumatoid arthritis, MS, transplant rejection, and acute liver failure and cirrhosis of the liver caused by
hepatitis B infection. Professor Chiodi discovered that there are antibodies in normal individuals that can block
or induce apoptosis.
In early 2004, IMED succeeded in producing a blocking MAB. During the spring, summer and autumn of 2004, the
antibody was tested partly in vitro and partly in vivo. The antibody’s profile is promising and it displays
definite positive biological effects. During 2005, IMED implemented an intentional new drug (IND) program. The
medical uses of the company’s product are many and there is a great medical need that it can satisfy whitin
transplantation, HIV/AIDS, and Cancer.
For further information about LinkMed and their portfolio, please visit www.linkmed.se,
or email info@linkmed.se.
Medivir AB was founded in 1988 based on work done at Astra on antiviral drugs. Over the years, the
Company has broadened its portfolio to include other therapeutic areas such as autoimmune diseases. Whitin the last
five years the Company has also changed its focus from polymerase inhibitors against the HIV-virus towards protease
inhibitors. Medivir is based in Stockholm, with another facility in Little Chesterford, UK, and it employs 130
people.
The market for protease inhibitors is relatively new, but is an increasing interest from the pharmaceutical
industry. Medivir currently has a pipeline of products including one project against autoimmune diseases such as
multipel schlerosis, allergy, and reumathoid arthritis; Hepatitis C, and osteoporosis. These projects are all in
preclinical phase. In addition they have several projects in optimization and discovery phases.
Medivir’s lead drug candidate is a polymerase inhibitor against labial herpes, and is currently entering clinical
Phase III. It is anticipated that this will become Medivir’s first product on the market. Medivir’s strategy is
then to look for an external partner for the marketing of the product.
Medivir is performing its R&D with a two-part strategy. Partially, they try to be “first-in-class” with compounds
adressing new mechanisms. This will increase possible future revenues, but at the same time have higher risk of
failure in clinical trials. To reduce the risk they also explore compounds based on already validated disease
mechanisms, termed “fast-followers” projects. This reduces the risk to its portfolio, and increases the probability
of bringing the products to market.
Additionally, part of Medivir’s strategy is to enter into partnerships with leading pharmaceutical companies and
academic institutions. Currently Medivir is collaborating with Roche on the development of its polymerase inhibitor
against Hepatitis C; and, it is working together with Tibotec on the development of a second drug candidate
against Hepatitis C. Other partners include Biovitrum; Jiangsu Hengrui Medicine Company; Paradigm Therapeutics;
Population Council; and, leading academic institutions.
For further information, please visit www.medivir.com,
or email info@medivir.com.
Neuronova AB is a privately held Swedish biopharmaceutical company engaged in the research and
development of innovative therapies for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS). Founded in 1998 by Jonas
Frisén and Ann Marie Janson from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, NeuroNova exploits the regenerative
potential of adult neural stem and progenitor cells to develop novel drug therapies for disorders with significant
unmet medical needs, including Parkinson's disease, depression, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease.
Existing treatments rely on either attempting to chemically replace the function of the lost cells or to limit
further cell death. Strategies that exploit adult neural stem cells for therapeutic use offer the prospect of not
only delaying disease progression but also regenerating the lost or diseased neural tissue.
A promising strategy for CNS disorders exploits the natural repair potential of the brain by stimulating endogenous
neural stem cells to generate new neurons, a concept NeuroNova has termed “Therapeutic Neurogenesis”. Until
recently, neurogenesis was thought to be restricted to developmental stages, however, in the last few decades,
mounting evidence has led to the view that the process of neurogenesis continues into adulthood and that the mature
CNS is endowed with potential for self-repair and regeneration.
NeuroNova's Therapeutic Neurogenesis research focuses on the development of drugs that stimulate endogenous stem
and progenitor cells to repopulate damaged areas of the brain. The Company is developing a broad pipeline of
therapeutic proteins, peptides and small molecule drugs to treat significant diseases and conditions of the CNS,
including Parkinson's disease, depression, Alzheimer's disease, and Huntington's disease. The Company has several
product candidates in various stages of discovery and pre-clinical development.
For further information, please visit www.neuronova.com,
or email info@neuronova.com.