With the advent of newer, more sophisticated technologies, coupled with a growing understanding of complex biological systems, there has never been a more exciting time to in the world of biotech start-ups. In this post, we will introduce you to 25 of the most promising biotech start-ups across the globe, all founded in 2022.
Each of these nascent companies holds promise, demonstrating a unique approach to tackling some of the most challenging health conditions.
Each start-up has its unique mission, from harnessing the power of T-cells to developing novel small molecule immunotherapies, creating tumor-specific antigens to developing innovative neuron replacement therapies.
T-Therapeutics
United Kingdom | Founded in 2022 | Pre-Clinical | Infectious Diseases | T-cell Receptor Biologics
T-Therapeutics is a venture-backed biotechnology company that aims to develop innovative T-cell receptor biologics for the treatment of chronic and infectious diseases. The company is based on the technology developed by Professor Allan Bradley’s laboratory at the University of Cambridge, and has secured significant investment from a blue-chip syndicate of investors to support its drug discovery efforts and prepare candidates for clinical development. Although the company is still in the pre-clinical stage, it is building facilities, recruiting staff, and establishing its research operations. The company is dedicated to unlocking the power of T-cells to treat chronic and infectious diseases, and is at the forefront of T-cell therapy research.
EpiBiologics
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Immunology | Protein Degradation
EpiBiologics is a venture-backed company developing first-in-class and best-in-class antibody-based targeted therapies against membrane and extracellular proteins that drive underlying disease biology. The company is focused on developing protein degradation technology to eliminate disease-causing proteins that were previously not addressable by classical therapeutic approaches. Their proprietary EpiTAC platform enables the development of first-in-class and best-in-class targeted therapies that degrade disease-driving membrane and extracellular proteins.
Ryne Bio
United States | Founded in 2022 | Phase I | Neuroscience | Neuron Replacement Therapy
Ryne Bio is developing neuron replacement therapies using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology. Their lead program, RNDP-001, is an iPSC dopamine neuron progenitor for the treatment of Parkinson’s Disease. RNDP-001 has completed FDA-mandated preclinical safety studies and is moving into clinical manufacture for Phase I clinical trials.
Focal BioSciences
Switzerland | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Age Related Disease | Cellular Reprogramming
Focal Biosciences is a pre-clinical stage biotech company co-founded by The Paul Scherrer Institute and Apollo Health Ventures with the aim to develop a scalable cellular reprogramming platform. The platform focuses on interventions that restore functional cell states in the physiological context of aging and age-related diseases using novel epigenetic signatures. Focal Biosciences’ innovative approach to reprogramming cells from aged and diseased states to healthy states without de-differentiation is based on mechanogenomics and includes a novel mechanobiology method for disease-relevant context, a condensed imaging readout to capture holistic phenotype, and computer vision and machine learning for understanding complex biology.
Profluent
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | AI | Protein Design
Profluent is a pre-clinical stage company that uses AI technology to design custom solutions for curing diseases and creating a more sustainable future through protein design. Their machine learning models excel at protein design and have been trained on billions of curated biological sequences, allowing them to extrapolate into new protein spaces, optimize multiple properties simultaneously, and create entirely novel functions. The company’s goal is to unlock the mysteries of complex molecular structure and function of proteins to design solutions to cure diseases and create a more sustainable future.
Adoram Therapeutics
Switzerland | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Immuno-Oncology | Small Molecule
Adoram Therapeutics is a pre-clinical stage company that is developing small molecule immunotherapies utilizing allosteric modulation to boost the immune system in cancer patients and regulate the immune system in inflammatory or auto-immune disorders. Their primary assets target adenosine receptors and they are developing a negative allosteric modulator (NAM) of adenosine 2A receptor (A2AR) for immuno-oncology, and a positive allosteric modulator (PAM) for anti-inflammation. Their unique allosteric screening technology allows them to discover new drug targets in GPCR, the largest class of receptors in the human genome.
CorriXR Therapeutics
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Oncology | Gene-Editing
CorriXR Therapeutics is a pre-clinical stage biotech company specializing in gene editing-based therapeutics for the treatment of solid tumors. The company has a proprietary CRISPR/Cas biomolecular tool that can disable the genome of a tumor cell while not affecting healthy cells. CorriXR’s delivery system is a lipid nanoparticle approach that will evolve from direct injection into systemic delivery for other targets. The company is focused on developing therapies for squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, lung, esophageal, head and neck, ovarian, bladder, melanoma, and thyroid cancers.
Aethon Therapeutics
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Oncology | Tumor-Specific Antigens
Aethon Therapeutics focuses on uniting immunotherapy and targeted therapy to expand the potential of both approaches for fighting cancer. The company’s HapImmune™ platform creates tumor-specific antigens, enabling the immune system to detect and eliminate tumor cells. Aethon designs and customizes antibodies to work within the tumor environment and recognize TCI-generated neoantigens, improving the efficacy of targeted covalent inhibitors (TCIs) and preventing resistance and relapse. Founded in 2022 by life sciences venture capital firm ATP, Aethon was born out of a novel cancer immunotherapy platform developed by researchers from NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.
Alevin Therapeutics
United Kingdom | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Respiratory | Small Molecules
Alevin Therapeutics is focused on developing novel small molecules targeting specific pathways within complex integrin biology for therapeutic applications in fibrosis, particularly idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), liver and kidney disease, and cancer. With a seasoned founding team, Alevin leverages research capabilities from the University of Nottingham and aims to develop preclinical and discovery-stage assets into new treatments for patients affected by life-limiting conditions.
Sonata Therapeutics
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Oncology | Small Molecule & Genetic Based Therapeutics
Sonata Therapeutics is designing therapeutics to reprogram diseased cells to become coordinators of cure, driving robust, durable, and comprehensive cures for a broad range of diseases. Their proprietary genetic library, biochemical and functional characterization, and machine learning algorithms allow them to generate a deep understanding of how to reshape multicellular networks. Although initially focused on oncology, their network-based approach is applicable across many intractable diseases.
NEOsphere Biotechnologies
Germany | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Proteomics | Small Molecule Degraders
NEOsphere Biotechnologies is a pioneering proteomics company based in Munich’s biotech hub. It focuses on the development of small molecule degraders as therapeutic agents against previously undruggable disease targets. Utilizing cutting-edge mass spectrometry technologies, NEOsphere screens libraries of tens of thousands of compounds against proteomes of over 10,000 proteins. Their integrated target discovery engine connects innovative degrader chemistries with the previously undruggable proteome, leading to the development of novel, first-in-class therapeutics against high-value targets. The company offers cooperation opportunities and is actively building broad drug discovery pipelines.
Scaffold Therapeutics
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Oncology | Small Molecules
Scaffold Therapeutics is a biotech company focused on developing small-molecule therapeutics targeting the m6A RNA methylation pathway. With teams in Cambridge, MA, and Cambridge, UK, they leverage top talent to advance a pipeline of assets, develop a library of novel screening compounds, and design proprietary cellular assays that provide insight into m6A pathway biology.
Navignostics
Switzerland | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Oncology | Spatial single-cell proteomics
Navignostics AG leverages spatial single-cell proteomics to identify optimal cancer treatments for patients and accelerate drug development. Their robust technology and leading data analytics enable precision cancer diagnostics and provide services to pharma and biotech partners. They support clinical research, diagnostics services, and drug development, aiming to make more drugs available and find the right treatment for each patient.
Neuronity Therapeutics
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-Clinical | Neuroscience | Immune Therapies
Neuronity Therapeutics is a biotech startup company focused on developing first-in-class immune therapies for age-related neurodegenerative diseases, specifically synucleinopathies such as Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia, and Multiple system atrophy. They are currently researching two main pipelines, NiT-1 and NiT-2. NiT-1 aims to develop pharmacological agents that transform residential immune cells in the central nervous system to clear out alpha-synuclein aggregates and stop neurodegeneration. NiT-2 is a technology that engineers specific immune cells from the bloodstream to boost immunity of the nervous system and prevent the development of neurological disorders, including synucleinopathies.
YNIOS Pharma
Belgium | Founded in 2022 | Pre-Clinical | Immunology | Proprietary Ionic Compound
YNIOS Pharma is a biotech startup focusing on the development of new oral and parenteral treatments for pathologies involving inflammation and restoring homeostasis. The company is developing treatments for Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) and chronic inflammatory diseases, including Chronic Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), using a proprietary ionic compound. The preclinical program aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of the compound in modulating SIRS in various situations such as sepsis, acute ischemic stroke, acute myocardial infarction, and others. Furthermore, the company plans to explore treatments for other chronic inflammatory diseases such as Rheumatoid arthritis, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and degenerative diseases with an inflammatory component, like Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT).
Axcynsis Therapeutics
Singapore | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Oncology | Antibody-X Conjugate (AXC) Therapies
Axcynsis Therapeutics is a platform-based biotechnology company that focuses on the development of Antibody-X Conjugate (AXC) therapies to revolutionize cancer treatments. By leveraging proprietary technologies, the company is developing a robust pipeline of AXC candidates with the potential to address unmet medical needs for new treatment options. Axcynsis Therapeutics has an integrated discovery platform that combines antibody discovery and engineering, proprietary payloads with multiple mechanisms of action, and enzymatic and chemical site-specific conjugation technologies.
AstriVax
Belgium | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Infectious Disease | DNA-Based Vaccines
AstriVax is a privately held Belgian company founded in 2022, based on vaccine technology developed at the Rega Institute (KU Leuven). The company has secured a seed round of €30 million to continue building the vaccine technology platform and bring the first vaccines into clinical development. AstriVax’s patented DNA-based technology results in self-amplifying live attenuated viruses that produce a polyfunctional and vigorous immune response. This technology has a wide range of potential uses for prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines. The company is committed to addressing real-world challenges in vaccinology by creating thermostable vaccines offering durable and polyfunctional protection.
Empyrean Neuroscience
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Neuroscience | Small Molecules
Empyrean is harnessing the power of genetic engineering to revolutionize the treatment of severe neuropsychiatric and neurologic diseases. They have developed the first and only platform to genetically engineer small molecule therapeutics from fungi and plants, which allows for the discovery of new compounds. Their team is working on novel therapies to address the unmet needs in treating neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance abuse disorders, and pain. Their approach targets genomic modifications to fungi and plants, aiming to develop innovative therapeutics that can improve the current standard of care for patients.
Kuria Therapeutics
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Ophthalmology | Topical Nrf2 activator
Kuria Therapeutics is focused on developing a novel topical Nrf2 activator for important eye diseases. Their lead program, KTX-1161, targets the corneal endothelium to treat and prevent diseases with high unmet medical needs, such as Fuchs’ dystrophy and corneal endothelial damage associated with cataract surgery. Currently in preclinical development, KTX-1161 aims to lead innovation in corneal endothelial health, utilizing Nrf2 biology across the spectrum of corneal endothelial dysfunction. The active component of KTX-1161 has high solubility and permeability and has been shown to activate Nrf2 in key ocular tissues in nonclinical studies.
Primera Therapeutics
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Rare Disease | Gene Editing
Primera Therapeutics is focused on developing a first-in-class gene editing platform to target inherited mutant mitochondrial DNA, addressing the root cause of mitochondrial diseases. By using a fully customizable TALE-based system to target the mitochondrial genome, Primera aims to enable precision gene editing at the mitochondrial level for the first time. Leveraging an innovative toolbox and key strategic partners, the company seeks to accelerate the development of mitochondrial disease cures for an underserved patient population. Primera is pioneering the gene editing platform developed in the Mayo Clinic labs to correct a patient’s mutated mtDNA and discover potential cures for mitochondrial diseases.
Lento Bio
United States | Founded in 2022 | Preclinical | Ophthalmology | Small Molecules
Lento Bio was formed in 2022 in collaboration with Ichor Life Sciences and Clarkson University’s Shipley Center for Innovation, aiming to develop effective, safe, and durable treatments for chronic age-related diseases using small molecules to target molecular damage. Their primary focus is the removal of Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs), initially targeting damage to the lens in presbyopia while exploring further opportunities in systemic diseases.
Vicinitas Therapeutics
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-Clinical | Oncology | Deubiquitinase Targeting Chimera (DUBTAC)
Vicinitas Therapeutics is dedicated to creating next-generation medicines that impact patient lives, utilizing their proprietary Deubiquitinase Targeting Chimera (DUBTAC) platform to restore the levels of aberrantly degraded proteins that cause disease. The company is initially focusing on developing therapies in cancer and monogenic diseases. The DUBTAC platform aims to target aberrantly degraded proteins by removing ubiquitin chains from specific proteins, stopping their degradation and stabilizing their levels for therapeutic benefit.
THERAtRAME
Belgium | Founded in 2022 | Pre-Clinical | Oncology | Small Molecules
THERAtRAME is a biotech company focused on discovering and developing new small molecule inhibitors targeting tRNA epitranscriptomics to cure patients with untreatable cancer. Their unique discovery platform integrates cutting-edge technologies for the development and positioning of novel cancer therapies. By targeting tRNA epitranscriptomics, THERAtRAME aims to bring new treatment perspectives for cancer patients and become a leader in the field.
Adiso Therapeutics
United States | Founded in 2022 | Phase II Ready | Immunology | Small Molecule & Live Biotherapeutic Products
Adiso Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on developing innovative therapies for chronic and progressive inflammatory diseases with high unmet needs. Their pipeline includes multimodal, locally acting small molecules and single strain live biotherapeutic products that modulate inflammation. By targeting dysregulated inflammation, Adiso aims to improve the lives of patients and their families with differentiated and effective therapies.
Forcefield Therapeutics
United Kingdom | Founded in 2022 | Pre-Clinical | Cardio-metabolic | Biotherapeutics
Forcefield Therapeutics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing biotherapeutics to preserve and protect heart function after myocardial infarction (MI). They are leveraging their proprietary FunSel platform, a transformational search engine enabling the discovery of natural proteins that help existing cardiomyocytes protect themselves after MI. The company has identified three cardio-protective proteins with potential therapeutic applications and operates under a virtual R&D model backed by life sciences investment fund, Syncona.
DEM BioPharma
United States | Founded in 2022 | Pre-clinical | Oncology | Immunotherapies
DEM BioPharma is a biotechnology company that focuses on developing the next generation of immunotherapeutics for cancer treatment. The company’s proprietary CHoMP™ platform (Co-culture with Human Myeloid Phagocytes) is used to identify unexplored DEM and EM signals in a systematic and unbiased manner via inter-cellular CRISPR screening using tumor cells, primary macrophages, and other innate immune effector cells. Co-founded by the Longwood Fund and distinguished scientists Drs. Jonathan Weissman, Kipp Weiskopf, and Michael Bassik, DEM BioPharma aims to eliminate tumors by unleashing macrophages and other myeloid effector cells.