Led · Equity · Jul 2025

Centauri Therapeutics is developing next-generation immunotherapies based on its proprietary Alphamer® technology, which recruits the body’s immune system to fight pathogens. Its lead programme, ABX-01, has yielded CTX-187, a broad-spectrum antimicrobial designed to combat clinically prevalent and drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria through complement activation, opsonophagocytosis and intrinsic antibacterial activity. CTX-187 is currently being readied for first-in-human trials, with the new funding earmarked to complete Phase I studies and prepare for Phase II. Since 2019 the company has received non-dilutive support from CARB-X to move the programme from lead optimisation to the preclinical stage and, in 2024, it won a grant from the PACE-AMR initiative. Centauri closed an initial £24 million Series A in January 2022 backed by Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Evotec SE and Novo Holdings REPAIR Impact Fund. The latest £6 million investment extends the Series A to £30 million, strengthening the firm’s financial position to advance its clinical pipeline. Dr. Henni-Karoliina Ropponen of AMR Action Fund has joined the board, adding sector expertise as the company moves toward clinical validation.

Led · Grant · Jan 2025

Visby Medical is an infectious-disease diagnostics company whose flagship product is a disposable, handheld Personal PCR platform that produces sample-to-result answers in less than 30 minutes. The device has already secured FDA Emergency Use Authorization for use in moderate-complexity CLIA laboratories and is engineered for future point-of-care and over-the-counter settings. By eliminating the need for sample transport and central-lab processing, Visby aims to decentralize testing and speed clinical decision making. In October 2020 the company received Phase 2 funding from the NIH’s Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program, validating both the technology and its potential impact on national testing capacity. Management plans to apply the funds toward high-volume production lines, supplier-base security, and manufacturing automation so it can meet growing demand. Visby is also working with government and private partners to expedite deployment of its COVID-19 test and expand its diagnostic menu over time. Although exact revenue or unit shipment figures were not disclosed, the funding underscores Visby’s move from pilot manufacturing to large-scale commercialization.

Led · Equity · Oct 2024

Vedanta's lead program, VE303, is an orally administered live biotherapeutic product comprising a defined consortium of eight bacterial strains, developed to prevent recurrent Clostridioides difficile infection. VE303 is produced from pure, clonal bacterial cell banks to yield a standardized powdered drug product and has received FDA Orphan Drug designation (2017) and Fast Track designation (2023). The registrational Phase 3 RESTORATiVE303 trial is randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled with a 2:1 randomization and a primary endpoint of CDI recurrence rate at Week 8. RESTORATiVE303 is enrolling across more than 150 sites in about 20 countries, has passed a DMC interim analysis recommending continuation, and is expected to complete enrollment in H2 2026 with topline data in H1 2027. Vedanta is funding the trial through the recent $60M financing package and supplemental BARDA funding. The company intends the RESTORATiVE303 study to form the basis for a Biologics License Application to the U.S. FDA.

Led · Equity · Apr 2024

SNIPR BIOME is a clinical-stage biotech in Copenhagen that leverages a novel application of CRISPR-Cas technology to treat and prevent human disease via precision killing of bacteria or gene modification. Its SNIPR technology is applied in collaborations with CARB-X, the Gates Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, IPATH, SPRIN‑D and MD Anderson Cancer Center. The company focuses on microbial CRISPR-medicine, with programs aimed at infectious-disease targets. Led by CEO Christian Grøndahl, SNIPR Biome is advancing CRISPR-based therapeutic approaches toward the clinic. The company recently completed a significant Series B raise, strengthening its balance sheet to continue development. It intends to use the new funds to support a CRISPR-Cas therapy specifically targeting airway infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa in people with cystic fibrosis. SNIPR Biome is a Copenhagen-based clinical-stage biotech pioneering CRISPR-Cas–armed phages (CAPs) as precision medicines to prevent and treat bacterial infections and to modify microbiomes. The company has developed an existing CRISPR-armed phage cocktail, SNIPR001, comprising four CAPs that broadly target Escherichia coli and will leverage this in the new project. SNIPR draws from an extensive phage library with broad antibacterial activity against E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains sourced from sites in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). SNIPR was the first company to orally dose humans with a CRISPR therapeutic and holds US and European patents for the use of CRISPR targeting microbiomes. The company works with collaborators including Novo Nordisk, CARB-X, SPRIN-D, and MD Anderson Cancer Center. With new Gates Foundation funding, SNIPR plans to develop microbiome-directed CAPs aimed at reducing gut entero-pathogen burden to improve environmental enteric dysfunction (EED) and pregnancy outcomes in LMICs. SNIPR Biome pioneers precision medicines using CRISPR/Cas for microbial gene therapy, focusing on designer phage and bacteria to edit or kill target microbes. Its lead product, SNIPR001, is a CRISPR-armed phage therapeutic that selectively targets E. coli in the gut and aims to prevent E. coli bloodstream infections in hematological cancer patients. Preclinical data published in Nature Biotechnology showed selective removal of antibiotic-resistant E. coli without off-target effects, and an interim Phase 1 in healthy subjects demonstrated safety, target engagement, and dose-dependent fecal recovery. SNIPR001 has received Fast-Track designation from the FDA for prophylaxis of bloodstream E. coli infections in patients with hematological malignancy at risk of neutropenia. The company collaborates with partners including Novo Nordisk, CARB-X, SPRIN-D, and MD Anderson, and states it was the first to orally dose humans with a CRISPR therapeutic and to obtain US and European patents for CRISPR targeting of microbiomes. The recent funding will support advancing SNIPR001 into patient trials and underpin a further significant fundraise to continue development of its AMR and gut-directed pipeline. SNIPR BIOME ApS is a CRISPR- and microbiome-biotechnology company based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Its lead candidate, SNIPR001, is being developed to prevent Escherichia coli infections in cancer patients, particularly those with hematological malignancies. The program aims to eradicate E. coli that can cause life-threatening bloodstream infections in patients weakened by disease and chemotherapy. SNIPR BIOME is advancing SNIPR001 through preclinical development under an award from CARB-X. The company may receive milestone-based additional funding tied to project progress. The work focuses on an engineered drug approach that leverages the company’s CRISPR and microbiome expertise. Snipr Biome is developing CRISPR-based therapeutics that use bacteria's CRISPR/Cas systems to selectively target and kill bacteria with defined DNA sequences. The company has secured a series of patents on altering microbiota for purposes including immune modulation. Snipr plans to advance its CRISPR microbiome drugs into clinical trials and has been refining its R&D strategy following technology validation. It will initially focus on precision medicines for difficult-to-treat infections and precision microbiome modulation in autoimmunity and cancer. The technology also has potential applications against multi-drug-resistant bacteria and in food-industry quality control. Snipr recently raised $50 million to support these development efforts.

Led · Grant · Aug 2023

GangaGen is developing a program called Klebicin in collaboration with CARB‑X. CARB‑X awarded the company a US$2.1 million grant to support lead optimization of the Klebicin program. The grant was awarded based on GangaGen's successful accomplishment of agreed milestones within the previously announced CARB‑X collaboration. The funding is explicitly described as a grant from CARB‑X to advance lead optimization work. No revenue, user, or other operating metrics are reported in the article. GangaGen's immediate focus, as reported, is progressing the Klebicin program through lead optimization funded by this CARB‑X award. GangaGen is a Palo Alto–based biotech developing treatments for bacterial infections, with a focus on antibiotic-resistant strains such as Staphylococcus. The company targets medical, veterinary and agricultural markets. Its pipeline currently includes a preventative prophylactic and a topical treatment for wounds and burns. GangaGen raised $5.4 million in a fifth-round financing to advance those programs. Investors in this round are ATEL Ventures, Otsuka Pharmaceuticals and ICF Ltd. GangaGen is a San Francisco, Calif. biotech company working on bacteriophages, viruses that infect and destroy bacteria. The company is developing treatments for antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, including pneumonia and MRSA. GangaGen raised $1.8 million to develop those treatments. This is the company’s first funding round. ATEL Ventures made the investment.