Esperante Ventures

AMLo Biosciences has identified two proteins (AMBLor™) in the skin overlying the primary tumour that are lost in high-risk melanoma.

Versantis is a Swiss pharmaceutical company developing medicines and diagnostics to revolutionize the care of patients with liver disease. Embracing lifesaving and preventive therapies, Versantis aims to answer the unmet medical need of millions of people worldwide. Its lead candidate, VS-01, is currently at the preclinical stage and has the potential to be the first drug for acute liver disease simultaneously supporting multiple failing organs. VS-01 targets 3 rare indications and received an Orphan Drug Designation in ALF. In addition, Versantis’ pipeline promises to improve patients’ outcomes in other medical fields; VS-02 and VS-03 are developed for chronic liver diseases and for the treatment of drug intoxications, both representing large market opportunities and significant upsides for Versantis. Versantis was established in 2015 by Meriam Kabbaj in Zurich, Switzerland.

Arquer Diagnostics is a diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialisation of a non-invasive immunoassay diagnostic test.

Oxford Cancer Biomarkers is developing and commercializing a suite of colorectal cancer biomarker tests to improve the current treatment pathway. Oxford Cancer Biomarkers is closely affiliated with Institute of Cancer Medicine at Oxford University, where its founders lead translational cancer science research groups. Oxford Cancer Biomarkers has also partnered with pharmaceutical companies to use its discovery platforms CancerNav® and ToxNavTM to develop companion diagnostic tests for pipeline drugs.

Arquer Diagnostics is a diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialisation of a non-invasive immunoassay diagnostic test.

Altacor develops and brings to market specialist ophthalmic products designed for the needs of both ophthalmologists and patients. Altacor brings together skills in drug development with in-depth market knowledge and an understanding of the European regulatory environment, to create a portfolio of high quality, differentiated prescription medicines that set new standards in the sector. Altacor's pipeline includes products for dry-eye, glaucoma, glaucoma surgery and ocular surgery.

Arquer Diagnostics is a diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialisation of a non-invasive immunoassay diagnostic test.

Cytox have developed a simple genetic based blood test for the assessment of risk and diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease in the very early stages. Alzheimer's Disease affects over 26 million people world-wide and is a growing condition as people live longer. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's Disease, but there are large international initiatives underway to find treatments with many drugs in clinical development. Cytox are commercially launching their tests in conjunction with Affymetrix (part of Thermo Fisher Scientific) to support Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies developing novel therapeutics.

Based at BioCity, Nottingham, UK, Haemostatix Ltd was co-founded in 2003 by Sarah Middleton and Professor Alison Goodall as a spin-out from the University of Leicester. The Company was established to commercialise a new technology platform based upon a specific peptide sequence that binds to fibrinogen – a protein essential to the formation of clots. The peptide is coupled to different forms of solid support or soluble carriers to create both topical and systemic haemostats. This new technology platform is the basis of a pipeline of first-in-class products to treat various forms of bleeding in surgery, trauma and in leukaemic patients.

Arquer Diagnostics is a diagnostics company focused on the development and commercialisation of a non-invasive immunoassay diagnostic test.

Atox Bio is a biotechnology company that specializes in infectious diseases, immunomodulators, and critical care.It focuses on novel modulators of the immune response that target key multiple and interrelated pathways of both the adaptive and innate immune response that play critical roles in infectious and inflammatory diseases as well as ischemia/reperfusion injuries. The company was founded in 2003 and headquartered in HaMerkaz, Israel.

Based at BioCity, Nottingham, UK, Haemostatix Ltd was co-founded in 2003 by Sarah Middleton and Professor Alison Goodall as a spin-out from the University of Leicester. The Company was established to commercialise a new technology platform based upon a specific peptide sequence that binds to fibrinogen – a protein essential to the formation of clots. The peptide is coupled to different forms of solid support or soluble carriers to create both topical and systemic haemostats. This new technology platform is the basis of a pipeline of first-in-class products to treat various forms of bleeding in surgery, trauma and in leukaemic patients.

Anergis, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, discovers and develops allergy vaccines based on the technology of Contiguous Overlapping Peptides for ultra-fast desensitization. It offers vaccines against birch pollen, ragweed pollen, and house dust mite allergies. Francois Spertini founded Anergis in 2001. Its headquarters in Lausanne in Switzerland.

Canbex Therapeutics is dedicated to treating spasticity in multiple sclerosis (MS) and other disorders. Spasticity is a debilitating and painful symptom that consists of involuntary spasms and stiffness of limbs and torso. The goal of the Canbex lead programme is to improve the lives of people with this serious and incurable disorder, and set a new standard in the treatment of spasticity.

Karus is an emerging pharmaceutical company whose R&D activities are focused on the design and development of innovative, molecular-targeted, small molecule drugs to treat immune/inflammatory disorders and cancer.

Leveraging the extensive knowledge of GSK's Biotransformation and Natural Products scientific team, Novacta Biosystems Ltd was founded in 2003. In the following 5 years, Novacta successfully adopted a dual business model, whereby it developed a biocatalysis and microbial pathway engineering service business, that supported its efforts to build an infectious disease therapeutic pipeline.

Cara Therapeutics is an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing novel therapeutics to treat human diseases associated with pain and inflammation. Cara possesses both near-term clinical development opportunities combined with proprietary approaches to developing first-in-class novel therapeutics. Cara's most advanced patented compound, CR845, is currently undergoing clinical testing for acute pain and pruritis. This best-in-class compound possesses unique analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities appropriate for multiple therapeutic applications. In addition, Cara aims to develop a future pipeline of first-in-class molecules at novel analgesic and anti-inflammatory targets using its proprietary drug screening technology.