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Eris Biotech
A safer way to beat cancer
Quick Look: Eris Biotech is developing a portfolio of non-systemically toxic immunotherapies targeting cancerous tumors. They aim to replace current immunotherapies on the market, the leading of which did $12.6 billion in sales in 2022. They Both founders hold a PhD focused on or related to immunology, with one founder having spent the last 10 years developing cancer immunotherapies.
Category: | Pharmaceutical |
TAM: | |
Funding stage: | Seed |
Backer(s): | Y combinator |
What they do: Eris Biotech researches and creates cancer treatments that are less toxic and cause far fewer negative side effects than current chemotherapeutics available on the market.
Problem Solved: Current cancer treatments are systemically toxic and are notorious for destroying the system of the patient they are meant to cure. A phrase that’s been formed in and around the oncology community is “if the cancer doesn’t kill you the chemo will”. Their first drug is being developed to treat mesothelioma, a rare cancer that has less than 13% 5-year survival rate and no efficacious therapies so far, with most patients dying 14-18 months after diagnosis.
The Team:
Rachel Garlickholds a PhD in Immunology. Her career has been spent engineering cancer immunotherapies. She was most recently a Senior Scientist at Thunder Biotech.
Evita Weagel holds aPhD in microbiology and molecular biology with an emphasis in cancer immunology. She was most recently a research scientist at Sumitomo Pharma.
Development Stage:R&D. They are currently in the process of developing their first chemotherapeutic. Their current project aims to block the signals from tumors that weaken the immune system. By doing this, they hope to keep the immune system active and better able to attack and shrink tumors.
Unique Edge:Their drug features a unique delivery system that activates specifically at the tumor site, targeting the distinct characteristics of each cancer. This technology, known as a hypoxia-activated prodrug or HAP, ensures precision in treatment. Both founders bring extensive experience in cancer research. Also, Eris Biotech has leveraged advanced AI tools to develop its first cancer drug, which is currently in the development phase.
Opportunity: Opdivo, an immunotherapy that also targets tumors, did $12.6 billion in sales in 2022. Introducing a new chemotherapeutic drug that reduces toxic side effects would likely be a favorite among consumers and capture a large portion of market share.
Risks: The R&D process for getting new drugs on the market is lengthy and expensive. Many drugs fail to ever make it to market. For those that do get approved, it takes an average of 10 years.
Interested in talking to the founders?
Get in touch with them here
None of the above content is investment advice. All investments should be done with adequate due diligence. As of the date of publishing, the author has no vested interest in the company mentioned above.