Next Phase Newsletter

By Caitlin Dolegowski, Marketing Manager, LSN

Targeted drug delivery has the potential to revolutionize cancer treatment, improving efficacy while reducing side effects. UPyTher is at the forefront of this innovation, leveraging its proprietary supramolecular drug delivery platform to enhance chemotherapy.

In this interview, Geert van Alem, Co-Founder and CEO of UPyTher, discusses the company’s vision, the science behind their platform, and their approach to securing funding. As the 3rd place winner of the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge (IPC) at RESI London, UPyTher continues to gain recognition for its groundbreaking work. Geert also shares insights on the company’s experience at RESI and the value of connecting with global investors.

Watch the full interview to learn more about UPyTher’s journey and the future of their technology.

By Caitlin Dolegowski, Marketing Manager, LSN

Rhythm Biotherapeutics is a pioneering biotech company addressing a critical healthcare challenge with a unique approach. In this interview, Founder and CEO Darryl Davis shares insights into the company’s mission, recent milestones, and future goals.

He also discusses his experience participating in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI JPM, how it has influenced his fundraising journey, and the role of Canadian life science startups on the global stage.

Learn more about Rhythm Biotherapeutics and its path forward.

By Caitlin Dolegowski, Marketing Manager, LSN

In this interview, we spoke with Rob Fraser, CSO, President, and Co-founder of Molecular You, who secured 2nd place in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI JPM this past January. Rob shares insights into the company’s journey, their fundraising efforts, and their experience pitching to investors at the conference.

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation (LSN)

On April 1st, 2025, Life Science Nation (LSN) will host its 2nd Annual European RESI Barcelona event at the prestigious Intercontinental Hotel in Barcelona, Spain. This premier event is an unparalleled opportunity for European life science companies to connect with investors and licensing partners from North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, facilitating meaningful partnerships and strategic collaborations. Last year, RESI Barcelona hosted 233 investors, 59 of whom were based in Spain and 174 from the rest of the world. This global representation includes investors from the United States, Japan, China, Canada, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, Israel, Singapore, and other countries. In 2024 over 75 North American investors attended. This year we expect even more, making RESI Europe 2025 the largest life sciences investor event in Europe in terms of attending US investors.

Licensing and Strategic Partnerships
For companies aiming to expand their intellectual property portfolios or penetrate new markets, RESI Barcelona offers direct access to licensing partners seeking groundbreaking technologies in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medtech, diagnostics, and digital health. Licensing partners from North America and Asia-Pacific—regions known for their robust life science markets—are particularly keen to collaborate with European innovators.

Showcase Cutting-Edge Innovation
European RESI Barcelona highlights the most exciting advancements in life sciences. For startups and established companies, the event serves as a powerful platform to showcase novel therapeutic approaches, groundbreaking diagnostics, and innovative medical devices to a global audience. Investors and licensing partners attending RESI are actively scouting for disruptive technologies that can shape the future of healthcare.

Structured and Targeted Format
LSN’s unique approach to event structuring ensures maximum impact. Prior to the event, participants are matched with investors and partners based on shared interests and objectives. This enables highly focused one-on-one meetings, streamlining the path to funding and partnerships. Complementing these meetings are panel discussions, keynote presentations, and networking sessions that offer valuable insights into industry trends.

Global Collaboration in a Vibrant European Hub
With its central location and thriving life science ecosystem, Barcelona is an ideal venue for fostering international collaborations. Companies will not only engage with key stakeholders but also benefit from the city’s rich cultural and professional landscape. The presence of 59 Spanish investors adds a regional dynamic, complementing the broader international focus of the event.

Early Bird Registration Ends This Week
Life Science Nation’s European RESI Barcelona event is a transformative opportunity for European life science companies to identify funding partners, form strategic partnerships, and expand their global footprint.

Don’t miss this chance to connect with the world’s leading investors and licensing partners in the heart of Europe. Reserve your spot today and take a decisive step toward shaping the future of your business.

Interview with Sally Stephenson, Founder, Kimaritec Pty Ltd By Caitlin Dolegowski, Marketing Manager, LSN

Sally Stephenson

Caitlin Dolegowski

About the Company:

Caitlin Dolegowski (CD): Can you tell us about Kimaritec PTY LTD and the problem your technology addresses?

Sally Stephenson (SS): Sometime in their life, 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will be told they have cancer. The only treatment that is truly curative is surgery and then, only if the tumour is removed completely, because disease that has started to spread or metastasise is difficult to treat and resistance to current therapies invariably develops. We desperately need new therapies to help people whose therapy has stopped working and change cancer from being an acute disease that will kill people, into a chronic disease that can be treated so people continue living to old age.
Preferably, this would be with limited or at least manageable side effects, so they also have a great quality of life during treatment.

Kimaritec Pty Ltd is an early-stage start-up company from Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. Kimaritec started officially in 2020 to explore the commercial potential of research performed by Dr Mohanan Maharaj during his PhD work supervised by Associate Professor Sally Stephenson, a tenured teaching and research academic at QUT. Medicinal chemist A/Prof Wim Meutermans joined the team as COO and contributes significant expertise in drug development.

Kimaritec finds small molecules that cause the cancer cells’ own protein recycling system to remove specific proteins it needs and causes cancer cell death. This is an approach to cause targeted protein degradation.

The way we do this is by blocking specific SUMOylation events. SUMOylation is a post-translational modification, something that happens to a protein after it is made, and one of the things that SUMOylation does is to increase the stability of a protein – keeping it in the cancer cell and allowing it to do its cancer promoting job for longer. SUMOylation is increased in cells that are stressed, and tumour cells are stressed. They are growing without control, pressing on each other, fighting for nutrients and oxygen and they have trouble getting rid of waste. So SUMOylation is increased in cancer cells and a lot of proteins that are not normally SUMOylated now are. Kimaritec’s idea is that if we can identify proteins that the cancer cell specifically needs to SUMOylate and we stop the modification from happening, then we have a new approach to developing useful anti-cancer therapies.

CD: What inspired you to start your journey in this field, and what sets your company apart from others in the industry?

SS: Cancer is one of the worst health challenges that many people will face. Most of us know someone who has had cancer and have seen how devastating this is. Personally, I have had 4 melanomas removed, the worst one before I turned 50, which is young for a disease where the biggest risk factor is getting old. But melanoma is in my family, and I am likely to have many more. In some respects, I am lucky though, because melanoma is on the skin and visible if you know what to look for. But many of our solid tumours develop inside the body and it is difficult to detect them before they become problematic and before they have started to spread. We have made great progress in improving screening for prostate cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer, and people are realizing the importance of regular health checks, but we need to do better.

There is a lot of interest and investment in targeted protein degraders, particularly the PROTACs and molecular glues. They have a different way of causing targeted protein degradation. Their molecules bring a target protein and an enzyme complex together to add a molecular tag called ubiquitin to the target protein and this marks it for degradation by the cell. The PROTAC and glue molecules are a little challenging to work with, but they show that targeted protein degradation works. The Kimaritec approach to targeted protein degradation, by targeting cancer cell-specific SUMOylation events, is a little bit different and new. To our knowledge no one else is doing this in diseases like cancer yet. Also, blocking protein SUMOylation opens up a whole new set of potential targets, including ones that are currently not yet drugged and for which we can be first-in-class.

CD: What milestones has your company achieved recently, and what are your immediate goals for 2025?

SS: We have proven that we can identify small molecules that can specifically block a SUMOylation event on a target protein and stop cancer cells from growing for two cancer proteins.

Our commercial target is a currently-undrugged transcription factor that is required for tumour initiation and progression and a great target for a degradation approach. We have a hit molecule that works in tumour cells growing in a dish – it blocks SUMOylation and stops the transcription factor from moving into the nucleus, and importantly, causes cancer cell death. Our molecule does exactly what we hoped it would do. What we have to do now is the hit-to-lead chemistry required to make this more drug-like and we are looking for people who want to help us do this.

Fundraising & RESI Experience:

CD: How has participating in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI JPM impacted your fundraising efforts? Did you receive any valuable feedback or connections from investors?

SS: Kimaritec has been in stealth for the first 4 years while we developed our platform and identified our first targets and molecules. This has been a challenging time for us as an academic research team because we haven’t been able to publish our work and for that reason, we have been passed over many times for Australian grant funding opportunities where track record is mostly measured by publications. The Innovator’s Pitch Challenge at RESI JPM was one of the first opportunities we have really taken to share our ideas with the world and start generating interest in SUMOylation inhibitors. Winning the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge is encouraging and confirms that we do have an innovative idea that is worth pursuing. We have identified a couple of leads and have conversations scheduled for the next couple of weeks. We are hopeful that the right investment for the next stage of Kimaritec is in our near future.

CD: What was your experience pitching to a panel of coordinated investors during the challenge, and how did it help refine your story?

SS: Kimaritec has a cool story, and I enjoy telling people about what we do. I appreciated the great questions, and the interest panel members showed in the science and its potential. Having only 6 minutes to pitch makes you really focus on the points that matter.

Entrepreneurial Education Program:

CD: How did the Entrepreneurial Education program, sponsored by the Brisbane Economic Development Agency, prepare you for RESI JPM? Are there specific takeaways you’d recommend to other entrepreneurs?

SS: The program was great. In particular, learning how to put together a cohesive collection of documents – the one page datasheet, an executive summary, and the pitch deck, then getting feedback on them was very useful. The focus on clarity and continuity in the message in each document was highlighted and the different ways of communicating this information was interesting.

An opportunity to pitch to the “Shark Tank” panel the day before the IPC was great too, and the written feedback did help me see where my message was not as clear as I was hoping, but all I had to do was add a couple of sentences in a couple of places, which I think really improved it.

I would definitely recommend other entrepreneurs, particularly academic scientists like me, take this course. It will help you understand some of the language of business development. Scientists and BD experts need to work together to move companies forward and the more you each learn about the other’s world, the better. I was never taught this in my science degree and to be honest, I wish I had done it sooner. Perhaps I would not have made as many mistakes?

The other benefit was meeting other scientists, bioinnovators and entrepreneurs in Brisbane and surrounds. There are many inspiring and amazing individuals and teams, and I am lucky to have been part of the 2024 cohort.

Closing:

CD: What advice would you offer to other early-stage companies considering participating in RESI or the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge?

SS: Do it. And be an active participant. You will learn a lot. And you will move your company in the right direction.

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation (LSN)

Life Science Nation (LSN) has established a global partnering platform connecting scientist-entrepreneurs and fundraising CEOs with capital, licensing, and product collaboration partners. Along the way, LSN has gained valuable insights into what makes a strong match for our buy-side partners.

Through discussions with hundreds of investors, I’ve explored how their pursuit of technology assets balances with the inherent risks of taking on unproven ventures. The answer is nuanced but typically revolves around a company’s key attributes: the science, the management team, milestones achieved, and the data proving the technology’s trajectory.

Similarly, I’ve developed a personal framework for evaluating companies referred to LSN through regional tech hubs, incubators, accelerators, and national or state life science agencies. Here are the qualities I prioritize:

The Founding Scientist

A founding scientist with a deep history in the science and technology at the heart of the company is invaluable. Many “new” technologies are refinements of decades-long research. When the original scientist remains involved—whether as a CTO, advisor, or board member—it helps de-risk the opportunity. Their historical perspective lends credibility to the technology’s validation and translation. Even if the assets are relatively new, a thorough understanding of their context, history, and potential demonstrates leadership’s grasp of the technology’s capabilities and future.

The CEO

Startups often feature CEOs with diverse backgrounds, and experience matters. I’m particularly drawn to those who previously held mid-level executive roles in large drug or device companies, where they successfully managed product launches—especially blockbusters. These CEOs bring practical, been-there-done-that expertise, which they now channel into their startups.

Equally important is the CEO’s ability to listen, adapt, and apply feedback. Coachability and a willingness to learn quickly are essential traits for navigating the challenges of the startup journey.

The Management Team

A diverse and complementary management team strengthens a company’s foundation. The best CEOs build teams with varied expertise that enhances their leadership and covers all critical areas. Teams with corporate experience understand when to hold steady, pivot, or fold, and this insight positions them for success. A team with a proven track record of success and the ambition to transition their startup to the next level will attract attention and generate momentum.

Milestones and Data

A well-structured plan with realistic milestones and compelling, validating data is essential. This demonstrates that the product is progressing in the right direction. Credibility is earned when milestones are achieved and data is presented clearly and honestly. Conversely, a lack of coordination erodes trust and opportunities for partnerships. Investors and partners value data-driven, achievable goals that reinforce confidence in the company’s trajectory.

Entrepreneurial Agency

Entrepreneurial agency is hard to define, but it’s unmistakable when you see it. It’s the confidence, passion, professionalism, and determination that propel a company forward. This “mojo” inspires trust and sets companies apart.

While I admire seasoned CEOs from large enterprises who bring their expertise to startups, I also value the energy of dynamic founders driven by their passion to address unmet medical needs.

Drumroll, please: My Companies to Watch in 2025:

Eysz (California, US)

Eysz is transforming brain health by bringing objective biomarkers, traditionally limited to specialists, directly to primary care physicians. Our first product, the Eysz HV Recorder, enables pediatricians to detect epilepsy in children through smartphone-based facial biometric analysis, reducing neurology workup wait times from 9 months to just 2 weeks. This innovation boosts primary care revenue and allows specialists to focus on the most critical cases. With a $10 billion market in cognitive and mood disorder screening and monitoring, Eysz offers a game-changing solution that meets key clinical and financial needs.

EYWA Biotech (Brazil)

EYWA Biotech is pioneering the production of sustainable psychedelic compounds through synthetic biology and genetic engineering. As the first GMP-certified platform of its kind in Latin America, we focus on developing high-quality APIs and formulations for the treatment of mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and PTSD. Our innovative approach not only ensures reduced environmental impact but also delivers cost-effective solutions with rapid therapeutic action. With a commitment to advancing mental health treatment, EYWA is at the forefront of the global movement towards next-generation psychiatric care.

Gate2Brain (Spain)

Gate2Brain is a biotech company focused on the development of therapeutics that efficiently cross biological barriers such as the blood-brain barrier, using a radically innovative peptide-based patented technology platform.

G2B-002, the first therapeutic proof of concept of our technology platform, is aimed mainly at the treatment of rare pediatric solid tumors.

Gen-t (Brazil)

We are a company formed by the union of nonconformists. On the one hand, scientists who seek to discover who Brazilians really are and, on the other hand, entrepreneurs and investors who understand the value of this discovery for the country.

While other countries in the world are advancing in the sequencing of the DNA of their population, Brazil is still behind. Traditional paths to the evolution of science do not advance. And we are the ones who lose out, because important traits that may be hidden in our genome are no longer identified, putting Brazilians outside the so-called precision medicine.

Gen-t was created to be a platform capable of including Brazil on the map of genomic research. Understanding our origins is the only path to full development. Knowing our identity, we will be able to develop more effective medicines and treatments for our diseases and verify that Brazil is, in fact, one of the countries with the greatest genetic diversity in the world.

GuideAI Health (Massachusetts, US)

GuideAI Health was founded by clinicians with a mission to improve early detection and diagnosis of chronic vascular disease. As interventional radiologists, we’ve witnessed firsthand failures to identify life-threatening disease, which is why we’ve designed advanced AI models to address this critical gap. Our AI-powered platform is the first solution targeting peripheral vascular disease (PVD), which affects 230 million worldwide. By detecting subtle disease markers often missed by the human eye, we enable earlier and more effective diagnosis and treatment to save lives, limbs, and healthcare costs.

IN8bio (Alabama, US)

IN8bio was founded with the mission of developing next-generation cellular therapies for treating cancer. Dr. Lawrence Lamb, one the Company’s co-founders, is a leader in the field of gamma-delta T cells. During his postdoctoral fellowship in transplant medicine, he was the first to describe homeostatic reconstitution of gamma-delta T cells in patients who receive alpha-beta T cell depleted bone marrow grafts. Dr. Lamb also identified an association between gamma-delta T cell levels and disease-free survival in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. This work formed the foundation of IN8bio’s focus on delivering gamma-delta therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. The Company is developing allogeneic, autologous, iPSC and genetically modified gamma-delta T cell therapies. Dr. Lamb’s research has formed the basis for the company’s Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials, two in newly-diagnosed Glioblastoma and one in leukemia and lymphoma patients undergoing hematopoietic bone marrow transplantation.

Serenatis (England)

Serenatis is developing three novel small-molecule drugs, each with a unique mechanism of action targeting different pathways implicated in OCD, including the glutamate, dopamine, and mu[1]opioid systems. These innovative therapies aim to address the root causes of OCD and offer new hope for patients through precision medicine.

Serenatis is positioned to revolutionise OCD treatment, opening a multi-billion market.

Servatus (Australia)

Servatus Ltd is a global leading therapeutics company with first-in-class clinical results for the safe and effective treatment of rheumatoid arthritis using live biotherapeutics. Servatus has built an efficient, integrated drug development pipeline founded upon a pragmatic, results driven approach to R&D.  This approach has enabled Servatus to successfully complete a Phase 2a trial in RA, as well as IBS-C (Phase 1) and Insomnia (Phase 2a). Our efficacy results, in combination with an excellent safety profile, mean we are well positioned to access large patient populations with unmet needs, becoming one of the first companies to realize the enormous potential of microbial biotherapeutics.

Value and Trust Co., Ltd. (Korea)

Value and Trust Co., Ltd.(hereafter VNTC) develops solutions to maintain the correct shape of the spine. Our main product is spine correction brace, Spinamic, but we also develop advanced diagnostic and prescription system to help produce more sophisticated devices. Our focus at the moment is on teenage patients with scoliosis(AIS) and we aim to ensure that children with scoliosis maintain the correct shape of spine without surgery.

Our product, Spinamic, is a fabric type scoliosis brace, which is easy to wear and washable, thus more hygienic. Through our brace, we can treat AIS(adolescent idiopathic scoliosis) patients the most effective way with minimized side effects that existing rigid braces have failed to deal with. Our focus is to improve the quality of life of the scoliosis patients without side effects, especially depression. We are now preparing to develop and apply our product and system to various vertebral deformities.

For our goal of improving patients’ quality of life, VNTC works with many spinal experts including spinal mechanic engineers, doctors, product designers, and textile experts.

Wellumio (New Zealand)

Wellumio, a venture-backed startup, is transforming acute stroke care with its Axana™ imaging solution. Powered by Pulsed-Gradient Free Imaging—a groundbreaking, non-radioactive magnetic resonance technology—Axana™ brings acute brain scans directly to the point of care, opening new frontiers in imaging applications. Engineered to bypass traditional radiology infrastructure, this innovation breaks down conventional MRI access barriers, delivering portable brain imaging within minutes at the bedside. After demonstrating efficacy in preclinical trials and advancing to human clinical trials, we are now working to bring this transformative solution to emergency clinical settings where every second counts.

By Dennis Ford, Founder & CEO, Life Science Nation (LSN)

RESI JPM 2025 will feature 7 focused investor panels, spotlighting Corporate VC, Oncology Innovation, Women’s Health, Pediatrics, Medical Devices, Big Pharma, and Longevity Investments. Attendees can connect with leading investors, CEOs, and licensing partners to align their stage of development and products with the right opportunities.

RESI JPM will also host 56 companies in the Innovator’s Pitch Challenge, where entrepreneurs present cutting-edge technologies to investor judges, offering a front-row seat to the future of life sciences innovation. Complementing the panels and pitch sessions, 8 workshops will provide actionable strategies tailored to fundraising and development in the life science arena.

As the first RESI conference of 2025, RESI JPM delivers unparalleled networking and partnering opportunities during a pivotal week for the global life sciences community. Join us to celebrate this landmark event and take your fundraising efforts to the next level. Registration is open, don’t miss out!