BioSpace is proud to present its NextGen Bio “Class of 2020,” a list of up-and-coming life science companies in North America that launched no earlier than mid-2018.
BioSpace is proud to present its NextGen Bio “Class of 2020,” a list of up-and-coming life sciences companies in North America that launched* no earlier than mid-2018.
To come up with this list, BioSpace sorted companies into that age grouping, and they were then weighted by a number of different categories and finally ranked in a cumulative fashion, based on the points awarded for each category. These categories were: Finance, Collaborations, Pipeline and Innovation (view methodology below).
The NextGen Bio Class of 2020 is a stellar group of companies that are already making an enormous impact on the industry now and will continue into the future. Congratulations to this group!
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1. Cerevel Therapeutics
Points: 45
Launched: 2018
Location: Boston, MA
Notable:
• Cerevel Therapeutics was launched by Bain Capital and Pfizer to develop drugs for central nervous system (CNS) disorders.
• Bain Capital Private Equity and Bain Capital Life Sciences committed $350 million to the company with the ability to invest more if necessary.
• Pfizer contributed a portfolio of pre-commercial neuroscience assets, which included three clinical-stage compounds and several preclinical compounds that target a range of CNS disorders including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, schizophrenia and addiction.
• The company has two compounds in Phase II clinical trials, one for Parkinson’s and another for epilepsy, and a compound in Phase I for psychosis.
• In April 2019, Cerevel published results from its Phase IIa clinical trial of CVL-865 for epilepsy, showing that the drug with lorazepam produced a statistically significant mean reduction in standardized photosensitivity ranges (SPRs).
2. Anthos Therapeutics
Points: 33
Launched: 2019
Location: Cambridge, MA
Notable:
• Blackstone Life Sciences and Novartis launched Anthos Therapeutics with $250 million.
• The company focuses on developing the next generation of targeted therapies for high-risk cardiovascular patients.
• The company’s lead asset is MAA868, an antibody directed at Factor XI and Xia, which is in Phase II development.
3. Century Therapeutics
Points: 31
Launched: 2019
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Notable:
• Century Therapeutics was created by Versant Ventures with $250 million in financing commitments from Bayer, Versant and Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics.
• The company is focused on developing iPSC-derived adaptive and innate immune effector cell therapies for next-generation immune oncology treatments.
4. Cyclerion Therapeutics
Points: 30
Launched: 2019
Location: Cambridge, MA
Notable:
• Cyclerion Therapeutics spun out of Ironwood Pharmaceuticals with a private placement deal of up to $175 million.
• The company leverages the power of sGC pharmacology to focus on serious and orphan diseases.
• Cyclerion has a portfolio of five differentiated sGC stimulator programs each designed for unique target tissues.
• Of the programs, olinciguat is in Phase II for sickle cell disease, praliciguat for diabetic nephropathy; IW-6463 is in Phase I for serious and orphan CNS diseases, and two late-stage discovery programs target serious liver and lung diseases.
5. Mirum Pharmaceuticals
Points: 30
Launched: 2018
Location: Foster City, CA
Notable:
• Mirum Pharmaceuticals launched in late 2018 with $120 million.
• The company licensed maralixibat from Shire to develop to treat Alagille syndrome (ALGS) and progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC), genetic liver diseases that primarily affect children.
• Mirum presented positive Phase II data in both indications in April 2019 and launched a Phase III trial of the drug in PFIC in July 2019.
• In July 2019, Mirum announced its initial public offering (IPO), which raised $75 million.
6. Passage Bio
Points: 28
Launched: 2019
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Notable:
• Passage Bio launched in February 2019 with a $115.5 million Series A financing that included OrbiMed Advisors and was joined by Frazier Healthcare Partners, Versant Ventures, New leaf Venture Partners, Vivo Capital and Lilly Asia Ventures. It has since raised another $110 million, bringing the total to $225.5 million.
• The company closed a $110 million Series B financing in September 2019, led by Access Biotechnology with participation from existing investors and new investors Boxer Capital of Tavistock Group, Highline Capital Management, Logos Capital and Sphera Funds Management.
• Passage Bio focuses on developing AAV-delivered therapeutics for rare monogenic CNS diseases.
• Passage Bio has a research, collaboration and license deal with the University of Pennsylvania and its Gene Therapy Program (GTP), as well as Penn’s Orphan Disease Center.
• The company has a development portfolio of five product candidates, an option to license seven more, with lead programs in GM1 gangliosidosis, frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and Krabbe disease, which are all expected to be in the clinic in 2020.
7. Qpex Biopharma
Points: 25
Launched: 2018
Location: San Diego, CA
Notable:
• Qpex Biopharma launched with a $33 million Series A financing from New Enterprise Associates and joined by Adams Street Partners, LYZZ Capital, Hatteras Venture Partners and Stanford University Draper Fund.
• Qpex Biopharma is focused on developing new antibiotics. It acquired the preclinical-stage anti-infective assets of The Medicines Company (MDCO), including proprietary beta-lactamase inhibitor technology.
• The U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) has made up to $132 million available to develop a portfolio of new antibiotics to fight drug-resistant, gram-negative infections. The original award was in 2016 to The Medicines Company for $32 million, with another $100 million available if all options to extend the partnership are exercised by BARDA.
8. Thrive Earlier Detection
Points: 23
Launched: 2019
Location: Cambridge, MA
Notable:
• Thrive launched with a $110 million Series A with Third Rock Ventures leading with Section 32, Casdin Capital, Biomatics Capital, BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, Invus, Exact Sciences and other investors.
• The company is working to advance and commercialize CancerSEEK, a liquid biopsy test designed to detect multiple cancer types at earlier stages of disease.
• CancerSEEK was developed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, and is being evaluated in DETECT, a prospective study in 10,000 healthy individuals in collaboration with Geisinger.
• The liquid biopsy test has received Breakthrough Device designation from the FDA for detection of genetic mutations and proteins associated with pancreatic and ovarian cancers.
9. Maze Therapeutics
Points: 22
Launched: 2019
Location: South San Francisco, CA
Notable:
• Maze Therapeutics launched with $191 million led by Third Rock Ventures and ARCH Venture Partners, with participation from GV (formerly Google Ventures), Foresite Capital, Casdin Capital, Alexandria Venture Investments and others.
• The company is focused on using advanced algorithms and data science to study natural human genetic variation in hopes of identifying which genetic markers provide protection to various diseases.
10. Ribon Therapeutics
Points: 19
Launched: 2019
Location: Cambridge, MA
Notable:
• Ribon Therapeutics raised $95 million with Series A and Series B financing, with investors including Novartis Venture Fund, JJDC, Celgene Corporation, Takeda Ventures and others.
• The company focuses on small molecule monoPARP inhibitors to treat cancer.
• In September 2019, the company dosed the first patient in its Phase I clinical trial of RBN-2397, its first-in-class PARP7 inhibitor, for advanced-stage solid tumors.
11. HiberCell
Points: 15
Launched: 2019
Location: New York, NY
Notable:
• HiberCell launched with $60.75 million in Series A funding.
• HiberCell was backed by ARCH Venture Partners with a variety of investors such as Hillhouse Capital, 6 Dimensions Capital, Celgene Corporation, the NYC Life Sciences Fund and others.
• The first company focusing exclusively on tumor dormancy detection and therapeutics and provides a differentiated opportunity to change the paradigm of cancer treatment.
12. Twentyeight-Seven Therapeutics
Points: 15
Launched: 2018
Location: Watertown, MA
Notable:
• Twentyeight-Seven Therapeutics launched in September 2018 with a $65 million Series A financing from MPM Capital and Novartis Venture Fund. Additional investors included Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, Vertex Ventures HC, Longwood Fund, and Astellas Venture Management. In May 2019, European venture capital firms added another $15 million to the Series A.
• The company’s technology targets RNA-modulating proteins (RMPs).
• Twentyeight-Seven’s lead program focuses on regulating levels of let-7, an important micro RNA that suppresses the translation of major oncogenes.
13. Verve Therapeutics
Points: 15
Launched: 2019
Location: Cambridge, MA
Notable:
• Verve Therapeutics launched with $58.5 million in Series A financing led by GV with participation from ARCH Venture Partners, F-Prime Capital, and Biomatics Capital.
• The company has a portfolio of gene editing technologies, which includes a collaboration with Beam Therapeutics and license agreements with Harvard University and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.
• Verve has entered a collaboration deal with Alphabet/Google’s Verily to develop and optimize nanoparticle formulations for therapeutic delivery.
14. Kronos Bio
Points: 14
Launched: 2019
Location: San Mateo, CA
Notable:
• Kronos Bio launched with $105 million Series A led by Vida Ventures and included Nextech, GV, Perceptive Advisors, Invus and Polaris Partners.
• The company’s Small Molecular Microarray platform (SMM) is based on the research of Angela Koehler at MIT.
• SMM is suited for the rapid discovery of novel modular or degrades of typically undruggable targets, such as transcription factors.
15. Motif FoodWorks Bio
Points: 14
Launched: 2019
Location: Boston, MA
Notable:
• Motif Ingredients spun off from Gingko Bioworks and received $90 million in investments from Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Louis Dryfus Co., Fongerra and Viking Global Investors.
• It has since raised another $27.5 million to develop animal-free protein ingredients, and in August 2019 changed its name to Motif FoodWorks.
• The company analyzes the sensory experience related to food in order to identify the underlying components, then analyzes the genetic makeup of the ingredients so it can translate them into animal-free products using microbial biology and fermentation processes.
16. Talaris Therapeutics
Points: 13
Launched: 2019
Location: Boston, MA
Notable:
• Talaris Therapeutics launched with a $100 million Series A financing.
• The company’s lead product, FCR001, had positive results in a Phase II trial and is Phase III-ready.
• The company’s technology is a one-time, allogeneic cell therapy for immune-related indications.
17. Frontier Medicines
Points: 12
Launched: 2019
Location: South San Francisco, CA
Notable:
• Frontier Medicines launched with $67 million in Series A led by Deerfield Management, Droia Oncology Ventures and MPM Capital, with participation from DCVC Bio, RA Capital Management and others.
• The company focuses on using chemoproteomics to discover and target new binding pockets on proteins, making them accessible to small-molecule drug discovery and development.
18. Tiburio Therapeutics
Points: 11
Launched: 2019
Location: Cambridge, MA
Notable:
• Tiburio Therapeutics was launched by Cydan with a $31 million Series A financing.
• The company will focus on developing treatments for rare neuroendocrine tumors and rare endocrine diseases.
• Tiburio licensed two compounds from Ipsen for non-functioning pituitary adenoma and additional rare endocrine diseases.
• The company’s lead compound is TBR-760, currently in Phase II and TBR-065, in Phase I.
19. CuraSen
Points: 11
Launched: 2018
Location: San Mateo, CA
Notable:
• CuraSen launched with $54.5 million Series A led by New Leaf Venture Partners and was joined by Longitude Capital, funds managed by Tekla Capital Management, Alta Partners, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC, and Pappas Capital.
• The company is focused on developing small molecule drugs targeting a novel mechanism in the brain to alleviate disabling symptoms and modify disease pathology in patients with rare neurodegenerative orders as well as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
• CuraSen’s technology is focused on restoring the lost adrenergic impact of the locus coeruleus (LC) by activating specific targets for noradrenaline in the brain.
20. Gotham Therapeutics
Points: 11
Launched: 2018
Location: New York, NY
Notable:
• Gotham Therapeutics launched with $54 million in Series A co-led by Versant Ventures, Forbion and S.R. One. The syndicate also included Celgene Corporation and Alexandria Venture Investments.
• Gotham is based on the discoveries of co-founder Samie Jaffrey, a professor of pharmacology at Weill Cornell Medicine. He focused on RNA metabolism called epitranscriptomics.
21. Entrada Therapeutics
Points: 10
Launched: 2018
Location: Boston, MA
Notable:
• Entrada Therapeutics launched with a $59 million Series A co-led by 5AM Ventures and MPM Capital, along with Roche Venture Fund, MRL Ventures Fund and Agent Capital.
• The company has a proprietary intracellular biologics platform that can deliver a variety of modalities into the cytosol of the cell, which allows the development of programs across several classes of targets.
To come up with this Top 21, BioSpace sorted companies into that age grouping, and they were then weighted by a number of different categories and finally ranked in a cumulative fashion, based on the points awarded for each category. These categories were: Finance, Collaborations, Pipeline and Innovation (view methodology below).
Check out last year’s top life science startups and previous NextGen Bio classes:
Methodology: How We Ranked the “NextGen Bio Class of 2020"
Data collected for points current as of the end of 3Q2019
Finance: One (1) point was awarded for each $10 million in seed financing or seed money that was raised.
Collaborations: One (1) point was awarded if the company was a spinout from a well-known company or institution, had signed developmental or commercial agreements or partnerships. Two points for each collaboration.
Pipeline: One (1) point was awarded for each product in Phase I clinical trial. Two (2) points were added for each product in a Phase II clinical trial. Three (3) points were added for each product in a Phase III clinical trial.
Innovation: The editor awarded up to ten (10) points to some companies for either particularly interesting areas of science and technology, for working in a particularly broad and open market or for potential growth. Factors such as awards for a product, founder or scientists were also taken into account.
* Launch date was primarily chosen as the date of a Series A financing. This can vary dramatically from the date the company was founded, which is typically the date incorporation papers were filed. For purposes of an algorithm and simplification, with few exceptions during the sorting process, the launch date was based on financing.
