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Biotech start-ups of RVC presented their projects to American investors
Three portfolio companies of RVC – Everon Biosciences, OnсoTartis and Incuron presented their projects to American investors within the frames of the Russian Innovation Week (RIW) Conference (September 17–20, Boston, Massachusetts, and Santa Clara, Silicon Valley). The companies offered their developments in the pharmaceutical sphere. Within 4-minutes pitch sessions each company was trying to convince investors of originality of the development and founding the receipt of investments.
Aggregate investments in the developments of Everon Biosciences and OncoTartis companies should reach $8 mln in the nearest 3 years. The planned volume of investments in the Incuron’s project amounts to $17 mln.
The Everon Biosciences’ activity focus – development of anti-aging medicines. The medicines work via selective elimination of aging cells from an organism. By today, a technological platform for searching the chemicals able to find aging cells has been elaborated already.
OnсoTartis company is engaged in development of new class antitumoral medicines, acting upon affected tissues of human organism. This allows to destroy not only the initial tumor cells, but as well the secondary metastases cells, that will give an opportunity to cure recurring and resistant to medicines kinds of cancer.
By today, Incuron has started clinical trials of preparation for metastatic and inoperable tumors and lymphomas treatment in the USA.
All three companies are portfolio companies of “Bioprocess Capital Ventures” venture fund with RVC participation. The participation of RVC is necessary, in the case of clinical trials’ positive results, for getting certification of FDA and other world regulating agencies that is fundamental for penetration of the medicines in global market.
“Pharmaceutical industry in Russia is utterly young and is only starting to build into global chains of value creation, – says Alexey Konov, Director on investments in biotechnologies, Bioprocess Capital Ventures. – Today we are overcoming the Soviet scheme’s inertia, when each pharmaceutical developer tries to build a plant in-house, instead of use of universally adopted outsourcing schemes of clinical trials or manufacture. But this situation is changing now. The advantage of Russia – strong scientific potential of the teams which quickly assimilate international standards of clinical trials and intellectual property protection. On overcoming this barrier, the Russian Pharma will be able to pass from generics’ production to creation of original substances”.
The RIW Conference, where the presentations are being conducted, takes place second time already. In the Conference participate: managers of first-rate international companies, venture investors, technology entrepreneurs, and representatives of government bodies of the Russian Federation and the USA. The conference organizers – Russian institutes of development, RVC JSC, RUSNANO and “Skolkovo” Foundation.
In addition to investment pitches, the program of the Conference includes discussion of such important for Russian innovation technological business issues as law protection of intellectual property, development of innovation infrastructure, and prospects of collaboration in spheres of energy, biotechnologies, IT, and telecommunications. RVC speakers will actively participate in special events, where the experience of American peers in the field of deals’ preparation and conclusion, introduction and commercialization of innovative technologies, co-investments in technological projects will be under discussion.
More information on Russian Innovation Week events see at: www.riw-usa.com