By Caitlin Kramer, Research Analyst, LSN

Advances in computer science and engineering in recent decades mirror and enable advances in the life sciences. The trends of miniaturization, massive parallelization, and faster processing are now applicable to cell handling, and investors are therefore taking a keen interest in this rapidly developing field.

Current instruments aim to separate and enrich desired cells from complex matrices using smaller sample sizes, all while shrinking device size to handheld or benchtop scale. Many of these new technologies make use of microfluidics and/or microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) which employ microscale electric, acoustic, or magnetic fields to separate cells on the basis of character.

These novel cell sorting and isolation technologies have applications in R&D in CRO, pharma, and academic settings, as well as in point-of-care clinical settings. The LSN Company Database contains 285 companies with a description containing “cell separation” and “chip”. A breakdown of these companies by sector (Figure 1) shows an emphasis on development of technology for use in the R&D or industrial settings, followed by chips developed for use in medical care.

Within the LSN Investor Platform, we have identified 520 investors with a potential interest in “biochips” and “screening” for use in R&D Settings (Figure 2). Of these investors, private equity groups are the most prevalent followed by venture capitalists. The high level of interest shown by private equity groups is indicative of technologies that are becoming mature; PE groups feel comfortable and interested in providing later stage funds to companies seeking growth, expansion, and buyout. The second most prevalent investment type is venture capital, which speaks to the continuing interest in developing novel chip technologies.

A breakdown of investors and companies by country (Figure 3) using the results of the aforementioned searches shows that the US, Germany, and China are leading in numbers of early stage companies with cell sorting chip technology. The greatest number of investors interested in these technologies are located in the US, followed by investors in the United Kingdom. However, many of these investors are looking globally for investment opportunities.  German cell sorting chip investment opportunities notably outnumber local investors, meaning Germany-headquartered companies might need to look abroad for investors.

Cells isolated from their endogenous origins – bodily fluids and tissues, ground water, soil, etc, are truer representatives of nature and therefore have great advantage as research and diagnostic subjects. This growing awareness has resulted in a gradual shift away from stock strains, and is relevant to antibiotic drug discovery, microbiome research, cancer diagnosis, and personalized medicine. The cell sorting market is predicted to grow to $6.3 billion by 2020, and the space is becoming more competitive as new technologies hit the market and gain traction with researchers. LSN will be looking for future developments in this increasingly crowded landscape.

By Lucy Parkinson, Director of Research, LSN

18 months ago, Next Phase took a look into assets under development in the neurology space. Revisiting that sector now, we see some fields moving ahead in spite of the great challenges involved in the development of neurology assets.

Drawing on a sample from the LSN Company Platform of assets under development worldwide, we can take a look at the top areas in both diseases of the nervous system and in mental and behavioral disorders. In diseases of the nervous system, this sample includes 647 assets, of which 464 relate to a specific clinical area, as shown in Figure 1 below:

Alzheimer’s disease remains the field with the most assets under development, in spite of continuing setbacks in late-stage trials. However, among other top areas of neurology, Parkinson’s disease has undergone market pipeline growth, overtaking MS to become the second largest developmental pipeline in neurology. With large pharma companies taking increasing interest in Parkinson’s disease, we can expect significant competition in the future if these programs are successful. We also see a substantial increase in development of treatments for neuropathies. This may reflect the increasing rate of diabetes, a major population health concern that has attracted the interest of scientists and investors.

There remain many rare neurological diseases in which few cures are under development; however, there are now treatments under development for two of these rare diseases that we highlighted previously as having no potential cures within our data sample, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease and Steinert disease. Given the strong investor interest in drugs that qualify for orphan designation, we hope to see treatments entering the clinic in the future in other rare neurological conditions.

In the field of mental and behavioral disorders, the LSN Company Platform sample includes 146 drug assets. Schizophrenia and depression remain the most crowded pipeline areas; however, there are an increasing number of drugs under development to treat addictions.

We still see new neurology therapeutics being developed by startup companies worldwide. The US remains dominant in neurology innovation, but China has seen an increase in neurology innovation. Figure 3 below shows the top 10 countries for clinical stage neurology assets.

In spite of the well-known challenges in the sector, there remains significant investor appetite for neurology therapeutics, with investors chasing potential blockbusters in disorders that currently have few or no treatment options, such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. The LSN Investor Platform now includes detailed mandate information from 362 investors that are interested in clinical stage assets in neurology. 150 of these investors are looking globally for deals, and others are looking in several different regions. The below chart shows the number of investors we’ve contacted who are looking for deals in each region:

Neurology remains a very active area for therapeutic development, with many severe diseases, some of them widespread, currently lacking any disease-modifying treatments. However, there are well known difficulties in bringing a product to market in neurology, including the difficulty in identifying the right patient populations for late stage trials. LSN will be tracking these assets through the pipeline, and will continue to reach out to investors who are focused on the future possibilities in neurology.