VLX Ventures has recently announced the launch of 4 new biotech and computational bilgy start-ups, all spearheaded by female CEOs. The four start-ups center around IVF treatment, cell therapy, proteomics-guided immunotherapy, and autism. These companies have been each established based on extensive academic research and 8-12 months of funded exploratory studies conducted collaboratively by the VLX team and leading researchers. The success of these studies led to seed investment and establishment of these new companies, with the support of the IIA (Israel Investment Authority). The announcement was made during the annual spring walk of the VLX team, taking place this year with representatives of the four companies in Upper Galilee.
This proactive approach employed by VLX Ventures, essentially guiding, and building significant scientific assets even prior to company formation, aims to create novel, transformative solutions rooted in robust, validated research, while being driven by real-world market needs and viable business prospects. All four companies are currently growing and looking to recruit exceptional talent.
The 4 new companies are excellent examples of VLX ‘s proactive strategy:
1. EVERLY BIO: focuses on revolutionizing the fertility space, leveraging its first-of-its-kind platform driven by molecular insights and advanced computational biology capabilities. By providing much-needed, unparalleled decision support throughout the fertility journey, Everly aims to dramatically enhance implementation success rates, potentially paving the way for potential novel biological interventions. Led by Dr. Michal Gilon Ohev-Zion (CEO), Everly’s multidisciplinary team also includes Dr. Tal Imbar from the IVF unit at Hadassah Medical Center (CMO), Dr. Yael Heifetz from the Hebrew University (CSO), and Prof. Noam Shomron, head of the functional genomics team at Tel Aviv University’s Medical School.
Contact: michal AT everly.bio
2. POINT6 BIO utilizes a proprietary multi-omics platform that builds on years of neuroscientific research. The company’s solution, harnessing biological expertise and machine learning to provide a singular view of nuanced molecular processes, is a biomarker-based diagnostic for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), that’s based on a simple, non-invasive test. Point6 is headed by Dr. Neta Barashi (CEO) and has Dr. Haitham Amal from The Laboratory of Neuromics, Cell Signaling and Translational Medicine at the Hebrew University as its CSO.
Contact: neta AT point6.bio
3. PROTICA BIO combines cutting-edge proteomics and machine learning to enhance immunotherapy-based clinical decisions. By integrating deep proteomics with machine learning, Protica Bio aims to create diagnostic capabilities and elevate response rates for current and future treatments. They are currently collecting FFPE samples from head and neck cancer patients and actively seek strategic collaborations for further research
Leadership and academic team: CEO – Dr. Olga Nissan; CSO – Prof. Tamar Gieger, Researcher at the Weizmann Institute and world expert in proteomics.
Contact: olga AT protica.bio https://www.protica.bio/
4. SAKURA BIO is dedicated to developing off-the-shelf, allogeneic T-cell therapy for combating cancer. Their lead product, SAK-T (Super Activated Killer T-cell), is a unique T-cell population with exceptional anti-tumor cytotoxic activity and a high safety profile. Sakura Bio’s initial focus for clinical trials is Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). The technology originated at Hadassah Medical Center and has been validated through comprehensive preclinical studies.
Leadership and academic team: CEO – Dr. Dikla Berko; CSO – Prof. Amon Peled, Head of the Gene Therapy Institute, Hadassah MC; CDO – Tony Peled
Contact: Diklab AT sakurabio.com https://www.sakurabio.com/
About VLX Ventures
Led by Ori Choshen, Dr. Lior Carmon, Moran Ben David Shapira, Dr. Nadav Klein and Eli Sorzon, VLX Ventures manages a portfolio of ten companies, having led the initial seed investments in each within the framework of an IIA incubator, and is actively involved in follow-on investments. CBG a British investment firm owned by businessman Vincent Tchenguiz, holds the majority stake in VLX providing crucial support and funding for the ideas that VLX believes in.
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