Ysios Capital

A life sciences investor financing new therapies

Ysios Capital describes itself as a leading life sciences investor that finances highly innovative companies worldwide. It gives biotech ventures the resources to develop novel therapies for conditions where medical need is high and treatment options are few, and it says it backs companies that it expects to benefit patients and society. Its team is international and is said to combine scientific, financial and entrepreneurial expertise, which the firm credits for the progress of many of the ventures it has backed.

An international portfolio

The portfolio is a mix of biotech companies in Europe and the United States. Its older investments show how long a position can run: the firm made an early investment in Cellerix, a cell therapy company founded in 2004, which later merged into Tigenix, a company listed on Euronext, and Tigenix was acquired by Takeda Pharmaceuticals in July 2018. Other companies in the portfolio include:

• VarmX, a spin-off of the Leiden University Medical Center, developing a protein therapy meant to halt severe bleeding in people on blood thinners.
• Vivet Therapeutics, working on gene therapy for rare liver diseases including Wilson disease.
• Adcendo, developing anti-cancer treatments based on antibody-drug conjugates.
• Aelix Therapeutics, a clinical-stage company developing a vaccine to treat HIV infection.
• Aura Biosciences, using viral nanoparticle technology developed with a US cancer institute against cancer.
• CorWave, a French medtech company working on blood pumps for heart failure patients.
• CytoKi Pharma, developing protein drugs for diseases marked by epithelial injury, including inflammatory bowel disease.
• Anaconda BioMed, an early-stage medical technology company headquartered in Barcelona.

Creating companies as well as funding them

The site announces a fund called InceptionBio, aimed at driving the creation of new biotech companies, in addition to the firm's established investing. That signals a move toward starting ventures as well as backing existing ones.

Impact and workforce goals

Alongside its financial aims, the firm sets out a short list of impact goals: promoting health and well-being, enhancing diversity in the biotechnology workforce, and measuring ESG performance at the firm and in its portfolio companies. It also said it had strengthened its team with internal promotions and a new venture partner.

Ysios Capital is a life sciences investor that finances biotechnology ventures working on new medicines. It looks for companies tackling conditions where patients have few treatment options.

Products and services

• Biotech investment: funding for companies developing new therapies.
• Scientific and financial expertise: an international team with scientific, financial and entrepreneurial backgrounds.
• Long-term backing: early investment that has followed some companies through mergers and acquisitions.

Clients

The firm's portfolio is a mix of biotech companies based in Europe and the United States. Examples described on its site include a bleeding-prevention protein developer, a gene therapy company for rare diseases, an antibody-drug conjugate cancer developer, an HIV vaccine company and a nanotechnology cancer company.

Key facts

• Focus: life sciences and therapeutics
• Regions: Europe and the United States
• Early investment: Cellerix, founded in 2004, later merged with Tigenix and acquired by Takeda in 2018