3D Printed Biodegradable Mesh Designed to Deliver Cancer Drugs Directly to Tumor Site With Greater Efficacy, Reduced Side Effects
BioSapien, a biotech company has announced it has raised $1.8M in seed round funding led by global venture capital investor SOSV. Co-investors in the round include Hikma Ventures, Microventures, Infinity Capital Ventures, JPIN VCATS, Side Door Ventures, and other high-net worth angels and investors (Additional investors listed below)*.
In addition to the seed round funding, a non-dilutive grant of $256K from the National Science Foundation will accelerate the development of BioSapien’s patented product, MediChip™: a 3D printed biodegradable mesh chip designed to deliver cancer drugs directly to the tumor site while reducing side effects.
“It’s great to have the support of these esteemed investors in BioSapien,” says Dr. Khatija Ali, CEO and co-founder of BioSapien. “The seed round funds will advance development of MediChip™ and give access to global distribution channels and manufacturing.
Chemotherapy can cause devastating side effects for patients. MediChip™ is designed to deliver cancer drugs straight to hard-to-reach tumor sites, for increased efficacy with reduced toxicity.”
MediChip™ is a novel biodegradable drug delivery platform designed to precisely administer any type of FDA-approved drug, locally and in a sustained manner. Pre-clinical research shows that in comparison to systemic chemotherapy, MediChip™ mitigates systemic side-effects through localized controlled release.
For cancer indications, it has the potential to improve the patient’s quality of care and life. It is designed to be a first-line treatment option for stage III locally advanced gastrointestinal cancer patients during surgery for adjuvant chemotherapy delivery. MediChip™ was granted its patent in February 2021 with a priority date of December 21, 2018.
Potential For Stage III, IV Pancreatic Cancer
The current clinical pipeline includes BioSapien’s lead indication of pancreatic cancer and others including lung cancer, esophageal cancer, and colorectal cancer. There are approximately 57,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer in the US every year.
Founded in 2018, in New York City, NY, BioSapien has already garnered global attention. In addition to the seed round funding and NSF grant which Inspiralia assisted in securing, BioSapien has been recognized in high profile biotech pitch competitions, winning the Pitch Night by Amazon and the Get in the Ring Start Up Competition.
The company is currently a semi-finalist in the PacBio 2021 conference. Now, with backing from SOSV, Hikma, and JPIN VCATS, MediChip™ has strategic partners, financial backing, and global reach to progress towards achieving the goal of impacting patient care worldwide.
- Additional investors include; SOSV, Hikma Ventures, Microventures, Infinity Capital Ventures, JPIN VCATS, Side Door Ventures, Harbr, Beni VC, Cedas Foundation, Kartik Garg – The Modern Nomad, George and Saul, and other angels
About BioSapien
BioSapien Inc. is a venture-backed biotechnology company focused on innovative therapies to transform patient care. The company invented MediChip™: a patented treatment that early research has shown can reduce the system-wide side effects of cancer chemotherapy treatments.
The 3D printed biodegradable mesh is designed to allow for a more exact delivery of already approved FDA pharmaceuticals without the adverse effects. For more information, visit www.biosapien.com.
About SOSV
SOSV is a global venture capital firm headquartered in Princeton, NJ. The firm has more $900 million in assets under management and more than 1,000 portfolio companies.
SOSV operates the startup development programs HAX (hard tech), IndieBio (life sciences), Chinaccelerator and MOX (cross-border growth in Asia) and dlab (blockchain). Sean O’Sullivan, a serial entrepreneur and technologist, is the founder of SOSV. The firm has 8 general partners and a 130-person staff across seven locations in the US, Europe and Asia.
About Hikma
Hikma helps put better health within reach every day for millions of people around the world. For more than 40 years, Hikma has been creating high-quality medicines and making them accessible to the people who need them.
Headquartered in the UK, Hikma is a global company with a local presence across the United States (US), the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Europe, and uses their unique insight and expertise to transform cutting-edge science into innovative solutions that transform people’s lives.
Hikma is committed to their customers, and the people they care for, and by thinking creatively and acting practically, Hikma provides them with a broad range of branded and non-branded generic medicines.
Together, Hikma’s 8,600 colleagues are helping to shape a healthier world that enriches everyone’s communities. Hikma is a leading licensing partner, and through their venture capital arm, are helping bring innovative health technologies to people around the world.
For more information, please visit: www.hikma.com.
About Hikma Ventures
Founded in August 2015, Hikma Ventures operates as the corporate venture capital arm of Hikma Pharmaceuticals. Hikma Ventures invests in global start-ups where Hikma’s expertise can accelerate revenue growth and enhance value creation by providing ventures with access to the resources of a multinational pharmaceutical company.
For more information, please visit www.hikmaventures.com.
About BioSapien
BioSapien Inc. is a venture-backed biotechnology company focused on innovative therapies to transform patient care. The company developed MediChip®: a patented treatment that reduces the system-wide side effects of cancer chemotherapy treatments. The 3D printed biodegradable mesh allows for a more exact delivery of already approved FDA pharmaceuticals without the adverse effects
