Fintech Spotlight

Tag: biotech

  • EnsiliTech raises £4.5M seed to replace cold-chain vaccine transport

    EnsiliTech raises £4.5M seed to replace cold-chain vaccine transport

    The Bristol startup’s patented tech preserves vaccines at up to 50C, cutting costs and waste in global drug distribution.

    Bristol-based biotech startup EnsiliTech has raised £4.5 million in seed funding to scale its technology for transporting vaccines and vital medicines without refrigeration. The round was led by Eos Advisory with participation from Calculus Capital, Empirical Ventures, Fink Family Office, QantX, Angel Investors Bristol, HERmesea, Penn Park Capital, chANGELS, and other angels.

    Founded in 2022 as a spinout from the University of Bath, EnsiliTech has developed patented methods to stabilize vaccines, antibodies, and enzymes for storage at temperatures of up to 50C. The innovation aims to replace costly, energy-intensive cold-chain systems that dominate the biopharmaceutical supply chain.

    “Our mission is to ensure that life-saving medicines and vaccines reach everyone, everywhere, regardless of infrastructure or geography” said Dr. Asel Sartbaeva, co-founder and CEO of EnsiliTech. “By eliminating the need for refrigeration, our technology significantly reduces supply-chain costs and drug waste, while lowering environmental impact.”

    The technology is designed to improve vaccine distribution to regions without reliable refrigeration, addressing both global health equity and environmental sustainability.

    “EnsiliTech has the technology to transform how vaccines and other therapeutics are transported and stored” said Anne Muir, director of portfolio at Eos. “Reducing wastage, reducing cost and vastly improving health outcomes across the globe, this kind of science and this scale of potential sits at the core of our investment thesis.”

    The company previously raised £1.2 million in 2023. The new funding will accelerate commercial development and expansion of its transport systems for biopharmaceuticals.

  • Cellbox Labs raises €3.3M for organ-on-chip platform

    Cellbox Labs raises €3.3M for organ-on-chip platform

    Cellbox Labs secured €3.3 million in non-dilutive funding to advance its organ-on-chip technology as regulatory shifts away from animal testing create new market opportunities for the Latvian biotech company.

    The Riga-based startup received backing through the Important Project of Common European Interest Tech4Cure initiative, designed to bolster healthcare innovation capabilities across EU markets. The funding comes as pharmaceutical companies seek alternatives to traditional animal testing methods for drug development.

    Micro-Engineered Organs for Drug Testing

    Founded by Gatis Mozoļevskis, Roberts Rimša, and Artūrs Ābols, Cellbox Labs creates micro-engineered chips that simulate human organ functions across multiple systems including kidney, gut, lung, blood-brain barrier, and pancreatic tissue. The technology promises more accurate and faster drug testing compared to conventional methods.

    The company’s vertically stacked channel design separates endothelial and epithelial cell layers using permeable membranes. Non-absorbing materials enhance testing accuracy, while controlled gas conditions enable hypoxia experiments. Mass-manufactured chips ensure reproducible results and can operate in scalable configurations supporting 8 to 24 chips simultaneously.

    Strategic Partnerships and Applications

    The capital injection will fund several key initiatives, including collaboration with Altis Biosystems to scale automated gut-on-chip models for pharmaceutical applications. Cellbox Labs plans to develop personalized testing models using induced pluripotent stem cells and patient-derived microbiota for precision medicine applications.

    The company will embed oxygen and pH sensors directly into chips for real-time monitoring without external hardware requirements. Additional projects include benchmarking GLP-1 generic compounds on pancreatic islet chips under dynamic flow conditions, improving biosimilar testing relevance.

    Digital twin model development with ESQlabs and MPSlabs will simulate drug absorption, distribution, and effects by integrating with physiologically-based human models for enhanced in vitro-in vivo translation.

    Regulatory Tailwinds Drive Adoption

    Recent regulatory changes have accelerated demand for Cellbox Labs’ technology. The FDA eliminated animal testing requirements for certain drug categories, while the National Institutes of Health now mandates organ-on-chip and artificial intelligence integration in funded research programs.

    These policy shifts reflect growing recognition that human tissue models may provide more relevant data than animal studies for drug development decisions.

    “Our platform is designed for scalability, reproducibility, and integration with next-generation AI workflows” said co-founder and CEO Gatis Mozoļevskis. “This funding positions us to meet the industry’s need for safer, faster, and more human-relevant drug discovery.”

    Market Opportunity

    The convergence of regulatory support and technological advancement creates significant opportunities for organ-on-chip developers. Pharmaceutical companies face pressure to reduce development timelines and costs while improving drug candidate success rates through more predictive testing methods.

    Cellbox Labs’ focus on standardized, scalable chip manufacturing addresses industry concerns about reproducibility in organ-on-chip applications. The company’s integration with AI-enabled drug discovery workflows aligns with broader pharmaceutical industry digitization trends.

  • SNIPR biome raises €35M to fight antimicrobial resistance

    SNIPR biome raises €35M to fight antimicrobial resistance

    Danish biotechnology firm SNIPR Biome has closed a €35 million Series B funding round to accelerate development of CRISPR-based treatments targeting drug-resistant bacterial infections. The Copenhagen company plans to use the capital to advance therapies for cystic fibrosis patients and cancer treatment applications.

    The funding round attracted new investors including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation (SPRIN-D), alongside existing backers Lundbeckfonden BioCapital, North-East Family Office, and Wellington Partners. This investment follows a €20 million venture debt facility from the European Investment Bank secured eight months earlier.

    Targeting Critical Healthcare Challenges

    SNIPR Biome has carved out a specialized niche in precision medicine by applying CRISPR gene-editing technology to combat harmful bacteria rather than modifying human cells directly. The company’s approach focuses on eliminating antibiotic resistance genes across different bacterial species and environments within the human body.

    A significant portion of the new funding will support development of a CRISPR-Cas therapy designed to treat airway infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis patients. This bacterial pathogen frequently develops resistance to conventional antibiotics, creating treatment challenges for patients with the genetic disorder.

    Clinical Pipeline Progress

    The company will also use proceeds to advance SNIPR001, its lead CRISPR-based product for patients with blood cancers. The treatment is currently being evaluated in a Phase 1b clinical trial across eight cancer centers in the United States, with support from CARB-X funding.

    SNIPR Biome has established several notable firsts in the CRISPR therapeutics field. The company became the first to administer an oral CRISPR treatment to human patients and secured pioneering patents in both the United States and Europe for using CRISPR technology to target microbiomes.

    Strategic Partnerships and Leadership

    Under the leadership of CEO and Co-Founder Christian Groendahl, SNIPR Biome has built collaborative relationships with prominent organizations including the Gates Foundation, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and IPATH. These partnerships reflect the growing recognition of antimicrobial resistance as a global health priority.

    “This financing marks a pivotal milestone for SNIPR BIOME as we advance the clinical development of SNIPR001 for the prevention of bloodstream infections and continue to expand our infectious disease pipeline targeting pathogens of critical importance” ~ CEO and Co-Founder, Christian Groendahl,.

    The CEO emphasized that investor support demonstrates both the urgency of addressing antimicrobial resistance and the company’s unique position in developing innovative solutions.

    Market Position and Technology Approach

    SNIPR Biome’s technology platform represents a distinct approach to CRISPR applications in medicine. Rather than editing human genes, the company uses CRISPR systems to precisely target and eliminate problematic bacteria or modify microbial genes. This strategy aims to preserve beneficial microorganisms while removing harmful pathogens or resistance mechanisms.

    The company operates in the clinical stage of development, having demonstrated proof-of-concept for oral delivery of CRISPR therapeutics. This delivery method could offer advantages over intravenous treatments for certain applications, particularly in treating gastrointestinal infections or preventing systemic bacterial spread.

    As antimicrobial resistance continues to emerge globally, SNIPR Biome’s specialized focus on precision bacterial targeting positions the company to address both immediate clinical needs and longer-term public health challenges. The Series B funding provides resources to expand clinical trials and potentially bring the first CRISPR-based antimicrobial treatments to market.

  • Chai Discovery raises $70M for AI-Powered drug development

    Chai Discovery raises $70M for AI-Powered drug development

    Chai Discovery secured $70 million in Series A funding to advance its artificial intelligence platform that accelerates pharmaceutical development through computational molecular design. The biotechnology startup, which raised $30 million in seed funding last year, attracted backing from Menlo Ventures‘ Anthology Fund in partnership with Anthropic.

    The funding round included new investors Yosemite, DST Global Partners, SV Angel, Avenir, and DCVC, alongside existing backers Thrive Capital, OpenAI, Dimension, Neo, Lachy Groom, and Fred Ehrsam.

    AI Models Transform Antibody Discovery

    The company’s breakthrough centers on Chai-2, its latest computational model that generates custom antibodies with unprecedented efficiency. Traditional laboratory screening methods require testing millions or billions of antibodies to identify viable candidates. Chai-2 achieves a 20% hit rate in antibody design, compared to the previous computational benchmark of 0.1%.

    “Before Chai-2, the process was not unlike searching a giant bunch of keys for the right fit for a lock—but there are millions of keys. Now, it’s like having a master locksmith design exactly the right shape key, based only on your description of the lock” ~ Matthew McPartlon, co-founder.

    The system requires only target antigen and epitope information to generate entirely new antibodies capable of precise binding. This approach enables scientists to design treatments for viruses, cancer cells, and other disease-causing proteins without existing antibody templates.

    Experienced Leadership Drives Scientific Vision

    Chai Discovery was co-founded in 2024 by Joshua Meier, formerly of AI drug discovery firm Absci, Facebook AI, and OpenAI; Jack Dent from Stripe; and AI researchers Matthew McPartlon and Jacques Boitreaud. Their combined expertise spans machine learning, structural biology, and large-scale product development.

    Mikael Dolsten, former Chief Scientific Officer at Pfizer, recently joined the company’s board of directors. During his Pfizer tenure, Dolsten oversaw 150 molecules advancing to clinical trials and 36 medicine approvals “I’m proud to join Chai Discovery and redefine biology from science into engineering” Dolsten said.

    Rapid Development Timeline Proves Technology

    The company’s technology has already demonstrated real-world impact. McPartlon cited an example where a company spent over three years and $5 million on a particular problem. Using Chai-2, his team identified an experimentally validated solution within two weeks.

    Chai Discovery previously released Chai-1, an open-source foundation model for molecular structure prediction that established leadership in its category. The progression from Chai-1 to Chai-2 represents significant advancement in computational drug discovery capabilities.

    Strategic Focus on Platform Expansion

    The Series A funding will support expanding platform capabilities to tackle previously inaccessible biological targets. The company plans to onboard select partners for collaborative research programs, building broader adoption in the biopharmaceutical sector.

    “Progress towards game-changing drugs and treatments is far too slow, stymied by costly trial-and-error experiments. Chai Discovery exists to push the boundaries of what’s possible in this field, applying frontier AI to transform biology from science to engineering” ~ Joshua Meier, CEO and co-founder.

    Greg Yap, Partner at Menlo Ventures, noted strong industry interest: “Chai is an exceptional technical team building foundation models for biology to transform drug discovery. We have seen a meaningful fraction of the biotech industry already apply for Chai-2 access“