Complete paradigm shifts in medicine are rare, but there have nevertheless been several major examples in the past hundred years. Treatments and approaches that seemed set in stone one decade can easily seem silly the next, as new information about the disease or underlying biology comes to light. Hindsight grants us clarity, but sometimes the factors that lead us down a particular treatment path can be as arbitrary as a feud between colleagues. Might there be paradigm shifts looming in oncology, neurology and more, triggered by a return to previous treatments?
Developing new therapies is sometimes not enough: for retinal indications, accurate delivery is key to making a drug work. Lowering the patient burden by minimizing injections is also an important factor to consider. Oxular, an Oxford-based biotech and V-Bio Ventures portfolio company, has developed a technology platform to address the unmet need for less frequent dosing and better drug delivery in retinal diseases.
Gent, Belgium, 27 October 2020 – Today V-Bio Ventures announces its investment in Animab, a new venture spin-off from VIB, in a EUR 3.4 million Seed financing round. The company develops monoclonal antibodies for oral administration to ensure intestinal health of livestock. The initial focus is on improving the resilience of piglets during the fragile post-weaning period. The start-up will use the seed capital to develop its first oral antibody product for protection against ETEC and initiate a product portfolio for the livestock industry.
While physicians care for their individual patients and are interested in the factors contributing to the individual’s condition, evolutionary biologists investigate the cause of the biological phenomenon, trying to understand for example why a certain disease has developed in a particular species such as our own Homo sapiens. By combining the view of physicians with the view of evolutionary biologists, the field of evolutionary medicine has the potential to improve our understanding of certain diseases and how to prevent them.
In August 2020, V-Bio Ventures announced their investment in Biodol Therapeutics, a French start-up looking to make a difference to people suffering from chronic pain. The company is developing a drug to treat neuropathic pain by addressing the interplay between nerves and the immune system. In a billion-dollar market dominated by ineffective and dangerous painkillers, their unique approach could reduce the suffering of millions.
Many of our current antiviral, antibacterial and anti-tumour medications are comprised of combinations of two or three active substances, selected on the basis that these combinations slow down emergence of drug resistance. We are currently witnessing a rapid expansion of disease indications for which exploratory drug combos are being tested, as well as of the rationales for combining drugs. In this article, we examine the drivers behind this trend and the inherent caveats and complexities of drug combo development.
V-Bio Ventures, a leading Belgian life sciences VC, invests in Biodol Therapeutics, a French biotech specialized in next-generation chronic pain treatments. Biodol Therapeutics receives EUR 4.5 million to develop novel FLT3 inhibitors for the treatment of chronic and neuropathic pain, aiming to reach the clinic by early 2023.
Ghent, Belgium, 28 July 2020 – Today V-Bio Ventures announces its investment in a EUR 23 million Series A financing into ExeVir Bio. The round was led by Fund+, with the participation, next to V-Bio Ventures, of VIB, UCB Ventures, SFPI-FPIM, and several Belgian family offices. ExeVir Bio has been established by Belgian partners combining world class science, antibody engineering, manufacturing, blue-chip venture capital investment and Flemish Government financing, which have joined forces in a unique collaboration to boost the development of new therapies to combat Covid-19.
Opioid misuse is a public health crisis that has resulted in debilitation, deaths, and significant social and economic impact. The epidemic has been fueled by widespread abuse of prescription opioids and a dramatic increase in the availability of illicit opioids such as heroin. In this article, we examine some steps to overcoming this issue and improving the way we treat pain.
In a recent article, we discussed how the most prescribed drugs are usually indicated for common noncommunicable diseases. These include chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, GERD and mental health issues. Regarding treatment innovation, these prevalent diseases are often underserved when compared to less common, but more profitable, orphan diseases. In this article, we look at some of the underlying factors causing these noncommunicable diseases and what could be done to prevent them.
Recent activities in the cell therapy field have prompted many investment funds to pour fresh and increasing capital into this space. In this review, we share some observations and highlight a few of the questions that arise when new modalities cross the bridge from bench to bed.
Over the past few months, every news headline has focused on COVID-19. The industry is accelerating its own in-house research to match the pace of the pandemic. The business development market is wide open, as large and mid-sized pharma companies are interested in partnering with early stage initiatives to advance investigational COVID-19 programs (in addition to pursuing their own in-house activities).
Augustine Therapeutics is one of VIB’s latest spinoffs, developing a first-in-class drug for Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. The company recently announced a seed-funding round of €4.2 million, led by V-Bio Ventures. We spoke to several of the key persons in Augustine about how the startup is tackling the “Valley of Death”: the no-man’s-land between academia and industry where many potential therapies often fail.
A large proportion of new treatments and life sciences breakthroughs can often be traced back to humble beginnings in a start-up venture. Why is it that these smaller companies seem so adept at developing innovative products? What have they got that larger companies are lacking? V-Bio Ventures takes a look at some of the factors making start-ups hotbeds for innovation.
Ghent (Belgium), 20th of January 2020 - Today V-Bio Ventures announces its investment in RootWave, a pioneer in electrical weed killing solutions. RootWave secured ca. EUR 6.5m in a Series A investment round led by V-Bio Ventures (Belgium) and Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund (Netherlands), and joined by impact fund Pymwymic (Netherlands) and existing shareholders including Yield Lab Ireland. The proceeds will enable RootWave to expand commercialisation of its RootWave Pro, a professional hand-weeder for spot weeding and treating invasive species, integrate its technology into automated agricultural weeders, and conduct further research into novel electricity-based weed killing applications.