Opsis Therapeutics LLC

iStock, leolintang BioSpace has been compiling a list of the most innovative and exciting biotechs for a decade. Here we take a look back at noteworthy companies from each of those lists. 2024 marked the 10th year of BioSpace ’s NextGen list, a collection of biotechs that are on the cutting edge and poised to break barriers in the industry. As we prep next year’s list, to be released in January, we decided to take a look back at a notable honoree from each of our past lists. There were many fascinating companies that have gone on to great things; on the other hand, sometimes things don’t go as well as we predicted. We have a few not-so-great stories to tell, too. ___________________________________________ 2024 ReNAgade Therapeutics Status: Bought by Orna Therapeutics This company made our list for a pretty big reason: a massive $300 million series A in one of the toughest financing environments in recent memory. The company was launched in May 2023 to develop RNA medicines to treat diseases anywhere in the body. One of the lead investors in the round was MPM BioImpact, whose managing partner Ansbert Gadicke founded ReNAgade. Early in the biotech’s history as a stealth company, there was a bit of foreshadowing as to where the company would end up. ReNAgade struck up a partnership with Orna Therapeutics, which was also working on RNA therapeutics. The work attracted the attention of Merck in a deal worth up to $3.5 billion with development and commercialization milestones. Given the money on the line, Orna went all in on ReNAgade, buying out the biotech in May of this year—almost a year to the day after its launch. Financial details were not disclosed. See the full class of 2024 . ___________________________________________ 2023 Mariana Oncology Status: Bought by Novartis What a year 2023 turned out to be for Mariana Oncology. After raising a $175 million series B in September of that year, the company was bought out by Novartis for $1 billion , plus $750 million in milestones. Originally known as Curie Therapeutics, Mariana emerged from stealth with a $75 series A raise in December 2021 to develop new radiopharmaceuticals. The company caught our eye and made the 2023 list, but apparently Novartis was keeping an eye too. The radiopharmaceutical-hungry Big Pharma said at the time of the deal that Mariana’s technology would help it double down in the field of radioligand therapeutics. On a recent earnings call, Novartis executives expressed their excitement in the Mariana technology, saying that candidates from the buyout are speeding toward the clinic and could go after well-established antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) targets. See the full class of 2023 . ___________________________________________ 2022 Eikon Therapeutics Status: Operating Eikon has spent the two years since landing on our list racking up cash and poaching executives from CEO Rodger Perlmutter’s former employer Merck. The biotech’s raises have been huge in a really tough market: a $148 million series A in May 2021, $518 million for a January 2022 series B and most recently, $106 million in series C financing in June 2023 . At the most recent raise, Eikon also announced the acquisition of a clinical pipeline. The company now boasts oncology assets in Phase I and II testing for non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma, respectively. The rest of Eikon’s pipeline is in preclinical research or discovery. See the full class of 2022 . ___________________________________________ 2021 EQRx Status: Bought by Revolution Medicines, assets terminated EQRx emerged with a lofty goal we could all get behind: develop drugs at a lower cost. It raised a cool $200 million in a July 2020 series A, then caught the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) wave to the Nasdaq just over a year later, adding $1.8 billion in an August 2021 IPO. The company was helmed at first by serial biotech entrepreneur Alexis Borisy. Trouble emerged shortly thereafter, with EQRx cutting lead asset sugemalimab for NSCLC after determining it had no path to market. The company shifted to two other assets, aumolertinib and lerociclib, but later dropped the former. Several rounds of layoffs made the company ever smaller before EQRx finally gave up entirely. The assets were terminated as Revolution Medicines bought out the company and its hefty $1 billion bank account. Borisy has since gone on to start a venture capital firm called Curie.Bio . See the full class of 2021 . ___________________________________________ 2020 Cerevel Therapeutics Status: Bought by AbbVie Cerevel as a company is no more, but its medicines live on at AbbVie, which bought the biotech for $8.7 billion in December 2023. The deal was part of a trend of neuroscience-focused biotechs being bought up by Big Pharma, with Cerevel moving in the same month as Bristol Myers Squibb bought Karuna Therapeutics for $14 billion. BMS was rewarded quickly with a recent FDA approval for KarXT (now Cobenfy) for schizophrenia, but AbbVie too has had success since sealing the deal. Cerevel’s investigational Parkinson’s disease therapy tavapadon improved control of motor symptoms when used with common treatment levodopa in a Phase III trial that read out in April. The data would support a regulatory filing for the therapy, executives said at the time. Two additional late-stage readouts for the therapy are due later this year. But the real star of the deal was emraclidine, which is in Phase III studies for schizophrenia. Cerevel also brought a major depression treatment to the table. “These assets clearly will be great additions to our neuroscience franchise,” said AbbVie’s CEO Rob Michael on the company’s second quarter earnings call. See the full class of 2020 . ___________________________________________ 2019 Genevant Status: Operating One of Roivant’s offshoots, Genevant is still operating today, working on developing nucleic acid delivery technology. Just last week, Genevant signed a deal with CRISPR gene editing company Editas Medicines to develop in vivo gene editing medicines for two undisclosed targets. Genevant has also recently signed deals with Novo Nordisk, Tome Biosciences, Gritstone bio and Repair Biotechnologies. But perhaps the most compelling story from Genevant since we named them to our NextGen list has been their litigation with famed biotech Moderna over the lipid nanoparticle delivery system used for its approved COVID-19 vaccine. Genevant and Arbutus Biopharma filed several patent infringement claims against Moderna arguing that the vaccine developer used their technology without license or proper compensation. A judge sided with Arbutus and Genevant in April, with a trial set for next year. See the full class of 2019 . ___________________________________________ 2018 BlueRock Therapeutics Status: Bought by Bayer Bayer bought cell therapy biotech BlueRock Therapeutics in August 2019 for $1 billion, but rather than absorbing the company into itself, the German pharma kept the name and unit operating. This unusual but refreshing strategy means that the company essentially lives on. In June 2023, BlueRock reported that Parkinson’s disease stem cell therapy bemdaneprocel was well tolerated with no significant side effects in a Phase I trial with 12 patients. It was the first cell therapy to show positive results in human testing, Bayer said at the time. A September update showed similar safety results. The therapy has since received a regenerative medicine advanced therapy tag from the FDA. Elsewhere in the pipeline, BlueRock’s investigational iPSC-derived cell therapy OpCT-001 for certain retinal disorders was cleared for human testing in September. The therapy was licensed from FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics and Opsis Therapeutics. See the full class of 2018 . ___________________________________________ 2017 Decibel Therapeutics Status: Bought by Regeneron Regeneron made a splash at this year’s American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy meeting in Baltimore when it showcased results of a Phase I/II trial of hearing loss therapy DB-OTO. The therapy restored hearing in two children who had a genetic form of hearing loss. While Regeneron’s branding was behind the conference presentation, the gene therapy came from Decibel Therapeutics. Regeneron bought the biotech for $109 million in August 2023, at which point the two companies had already been working together for six years. The biotech was integrated into Regeneron’s genetic medicines portfolio. See the full class of 2017 . ___________________________________________ 2016 CRISPR Therapeutics Status: Operating CRISPR Therapeutics made history last year as the first company, along with partner Vertex Pharmaceuticals, to gain an FDA approval for a CRISPR-based gene edited therapy. The companies were granted an FDA greenlight for Casgevy in sickle cell disease. The same day, bluebird bio got a similar nod for a competing gene therapy, though not one that involves CRISPR technology. The FDA approval was a triumph of modern biotechnology. But the roll out has been slow given the nature of gene therapy treatment, and only recently have patients begun receiving infusions of the medicine. Casgevy is now also approved for beta thalassemia, another blood disorder. The company has turned to the rest of its pipeline, including a CD19-directed CAR T cell program called CTX112, which is being tested in both cancer and autoimmune disorders. CTX131 is in development for hematological malignancies as well. CEO Sam Kulkarni has expressed confidence in CRISPR’s leading position in gene editing and pledged to be on top of emerging technologies. “One of the most important considerations for us is that we don’t get disrupted,” he said at the Goldman Sachs healthcare conference in June. “We are the leaders in the gene editing space and we have been, but we want to make sure that we’re looking at every improvement that’s coming out there.” See the full class of 2016 . ___________________________________________ 2015 Spark Therapeutics Status: Bought by Roche Like BlueRock, Spark Therapeutics was folded into a Big Pharma but kept its identity. Spark earned a spot on our very first NextGen list in 2015 thanks to its active clinical hemophilia program and fundraises totaling $122.8 million. The company caught the eye of Roche, which swooped in with a $4.8 billion bid in February 2019. The deal eventually turned into a bit of a boondoggle, with regulatory delays slowing things down until it finally closed that December. At issue was Roche’s hemophilia Hemlibra. Regulators worried that Spark’s hemophilia program and Hemlibra together could stifle competition and create a monopoly. Spark brought with it the approved eye disease gene therapy Luxturna. With the deal closed, Spark has charged forward under the Roche banner. The unit is developing a 500,000-square foot Gene Therapy Innovation Center in Philadelphia as its flagship manufacturing space. See the full class of 2015 .

CAMBRIDGE, MA USA I September 3, 2024 I BlueRock Therapeutics LP, a clinical stage cell therapy company and wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG, today announced the clearance of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for OpCT-001, an investigational induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived cell therapy for the treatment of primary photoreceptor diseases. “We are pleased with the immense progress we have made to date and thrilled that the FDA has cleared our IND application to initiate clinical testing for OpCT-001,” said Amit Rakhit, Chief Development and Medical Officer at BlueRock Therapeutics. “We believe that OpCT-001 has potential to restore vision in people living with primary photoreceptor diseases and look forward to working with the ophthalmology community in initiating our Phase 1/2a clinical study.” OpCT-001 is the first investigational iPSC-derived cell therapy to be clinically evaluated for the treatment of primary photoreceptor diseases. Initiation activities to support a Phase 1/2a study are underway. The Phase 1/2a study is designed as a first-in-human study to evaluate the safety and tolerability of subretinal administration of OpCT-001 in people with primary photoreceptor diseases as well as evaluate the effect of OpCT-001 on retinal structure, visual function and functional vision. The study will assess several dose levels of OpCT-001 and is expected to enroll participants in sites across the U.S. Primary photoreceptor diseases are a subgroup of inherited retinal disorders that includes retinitis pigmentosa and cone-rod dystrophy. These diseases affect the structure and function of the photoreceptor cells in the retina, leading to irreversible vision loss in both children and adults. Primary photoreceptor diseases affect an estimated 110,000¹ people in the U.S. and only limited treatment options exist for this population. OpCT-001 aims to restore vision loss caused by these diseases by replacing degenerated cells in the retina with functional cells. OpCT-001 was exclusively licensed from FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics and Opsis Therapeutics in January 2024 as part of the strategic R&D and clinical manufacturing collaboration between BlueRock Therapeutics, FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics, and Opsis Therapeutics forged in 2021. As part of the collaboration, FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics supported BlueRock Therapeutics via research, development and the execution of critical IND-enabling activities including the clinical manufacturing of OpCT-001 at their cGMP² facility in Madison, Wisconsin. OpCT-001 is an investigational cell therapy that has not been approved by any regulatory authority, and its efficacy and safety have not been established or fully evaluated. ¹https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519518/ ; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1808442/ ; https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/usher-syndrome#b ²Current good manufacturing practices are regulations enforced by the FDA. About BlueRock Therapeutics LP BlueRock Therapeutics LP is a clinical stage cell therapy company focused on creating cellular medicines to treat devastating diseases. We are harnessing the power of cell therapy to create a pipeline of new medicines for people suffering from neurological, ophthalmic, cardiovascular and immunological diseases. Two of our novel investigational cell therapies, bemdaneprocel (BRT-DA01) for the treatment Parkinson’s disease and OpCT-001 for the treatment of primary photoreceptor disease are clinical stage programs. Bemdaneprocel has RMAT (Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy) and Fast Track designation from the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration); has completed Phase 1 clinical trial and is progressing to the next stage of clinical development. OpCT-001 has been cleared by the FDA to begin Phase 1 clinical testing. BlueRock was founded in 2016 as a joint venture of Versant Ventures and Leaps by Bayer, the impact investing arm of Bayer AG that invests in paradigm-shifting breakthrough innovation. In late 2019, BlueRock became a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG as a cornerstone of its newly formed Cell & Gene Therapy platform. Our culture is defined by the courage to persist regardless of the challenge, the urgency to transform medicine and deliver hope, integrity guided by mission, and community-mindedness with the understanding that we are all part of something bigger than ourselves. For more information, visit www.bluerocktx.com. About Bayer Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2022, the Group employed around 101,000 people and had sales of 50.7 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 6.2 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com . Find more information at https://pharma.bayer.com Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/bayer SOURCE: Bluerock Therapeutics

First iPSC therapy candidate to be licensed from the strategic R&D collaboration forged between BlueRock, FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics, and Opsis Therapeutics in 2021 Primary photoreceptor diseases affect the structure and function of the photoreceptor cells in the retina, leading to irreversible vision loss in children and adults IND filing for OpCT-001 is planned for 2024 CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Jan. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BlueRock Therapeutics LP, a clinical stage cell therapy company and wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG, announced today that it has exercised its option to exclusively license OpCT-001, an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived cell therapy candidate for the treatment of primary photoreceptor diseases, from FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics and Opsis Therapeutics. OpCT-001 is the lead cell therapy candidate being developed under the strategic R&D collaboration between BlueRock, FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics, and Opsis Therapeutics that was forged in 2021. Under the terms of the agreement FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics, and Opsis Therapeutics receive an undisclosed license fee and are eligible to receive payments upon achievement of certain development and commercial milestones. "We believe that cell therapy has great potential for restoring vision in patients who are living with retinal diseases," said Ahmed Enayetallah, Senior Vice President and Head of Development at BlueRock Therapeutics. "Our collaboration with the FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics and Opsis Therapeutics team has allowed us to execute important IND-enabling activities, and we are excited to advance OpCT-001 toward the clinic, with an IND filing planned for this year." Primary photoreceptor diseases are a subgroup of inherited retinal disorders that includes retinitis pigmentosa and cone rod dystrophies. These diseases affect the structure and function of the photoreceptor cells in the retina, leading to irreversible vision loss in both children and adults. No treatment options currently exist for this patient population. OpCT-001 aims to restore vision loss caused by these diseases by replacing degenerated tissue in the retina with functional cells. About BlueRock Therapeutics LP BlueRock Therapeutics LP is a clinical stage cell therapy company focused on creating cellular medicines to reverse devastating diseases. We are harnessing the power of cell therapy to create a pipeline of new medicines for patients suffering from neurological, cardiovascular, immunological, and ophthalmic diseases. Our lead clinical program, bemdaneprocel, (BRT-DA01) is in Phase I clinical trials for Parkinson's disease. We were founded in 2016 as a joint venture of Versant Ventures and Leaps by Bayer, the impact investing arm of Bayer AG that invests in paradigm-shifting breakthrough innovation. In late 2019, BlueRock became a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG as a cornerstone of its newly formed Cell & Gene Therapy platform. Our culture is defined by the courage to persist regardless of the challenge, the urgency to transform medicine and deliver hope, integrity guided by mission, and community-mindedness with the understanding that we are all part of something bigger than ourselves. For more information, visit About Bayer Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2022, the Group employed around 101,000 people and had sales of 50.7 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 6.2 billion euros. For more information, go to . Find more information at Follow us on Facebook: Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "anticipate," "believe," "forecast," "estimate," "plan," and "intend," among others. These forward-looking statements are based on BlueRock's current expectations and actual results could differ materially. There are a number of factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, the initiation, timing, progress, activities, goals and reporting of results of any preclinical programs and clinical trials and research and development programs, the potential benefits, timing and future operation of the agreements with FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics and Opsis Therapeutics, the ability to advance therapies into, and successfully initiate, enroll and complete clinical trials, the potential clinical utility of product candidates, the regulatory pathway of, and the timing or likelihood of any regulatory filings and approvals for, any product candidates, and the ability to, and extent of, potentially commercializing any product candidate, are forward looking. As with any pharmaceutical under development, there are significant risks in the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of new products. Except as expressly required by law, BlueRock does not undertake an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. All of BlueRock's forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by all such risk factors and other cautionary statements. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date hereof. About BlueRock Therapeutics LP  BlueRock Therapeutics LP is a clinical stage cell therapy company focused on creating cellular medicines to reverse devastating diseases. We are harnessing the power of cell therapy to create a pipeline of new medicines for patients suffering from neurological, cardiovascular, immunological, and ophthalmic diseases. Our lead clinical program, bemdaneprocel, (BRT-DA01) is in Phase I clinical trials for Parkinson's disease. We were founded in 2016 as a joint venture of Versant Ventures and Leaps by Bayer, the impact investing arm of Bayer AG that invests in paradigm-shifting breakthrough innovation. In late 2019, BlueRock became a wholly owned, independently operated subsidiary of Bayer AG as a cornerstone of its newly formed Cell & Gene Therapy Platform. Our culture is defined by the courage to persist regardless of the challenge, the urgency to transform medicine and deliver hope, integrity guided by mission, and community-mindedness with the understanding that we are all part of something bigger than ourselves. For more information, visit      Follow us on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/bluerocktx About Bayer Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to help people and the planet thrive by supporting efforts to master the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. Bayer is committed to driving sustainable development and generating a positive impact with its businesses. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. The Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2022, the Group employed around 101,000 people and had sales of 50.7 billion euros. R&D expenses before special items amounted to 6.2 billion euros. For more information, go to . Find more information at   Follow us on Facebook: Follow us on Twitter: @BayerPharma SOURCE BlueRock Therapeutics