Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the pharma industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked combination therapy solutions.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Top Combination Therapy Solutions out of 267
The insights of this data-driven analysis are derived from the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 2 093 000+ startups & scaleups globally. The platform gives you an exhaustive overview of emerging technologies & relevant startups within a specific field in just a few clicks.
The Global Startup Heat Map below reveals the distribution of the 267 exemplary startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Further, it highlights 5 pharma startups that we hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. You get to explore the solutions of these 5 startups & scaleups in this report. For insights on the other 262 combination therapy solutions, get in touch.
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Terns Pharmaceuticals develops Small Molecule Inhibitors
Often, multiple pathways impact the progression and development of a disease. By integrating multiple therapeutic modalities, combination therapies improve treatment outcomes in such cases. This is why startups are testing their small molecule drugs in combination with novel or existing drugs. Moreover, combination therapy significantly reduces the risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
US-based startup Terns Pharmaceuticals offers small molecule inhibitors. The startup’s portfolio of drugs targets non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and other chronic liver diseases. It develops inhibitors and agonists for use as single-agent as well as in combination therapy. NASH being a complex disease, the startup’s combination therapies target multiple pathways for an improved therapeutic response.
Ella Therapeutics provides Microbiome Combination Therapy
Owing to advances in microbiomics, many pharma startups are developing microbiome-based biotherapeutics. These drugs leverage the connection between the microbiome and the immune system to drive effective immune responses. Moreover, the trend also opens up novel combination therapies based on existing drugs. In combination therapies, microbiome-based drugs significantly enhance the efficacy of other drugs.
Israeli startup Ella Therapeutics develops microbiome combination therapy. The startup’s clinical program includes a combination treatment for metastatic melanoma in patients who did not benefit from immunotherapy. It combines fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) with anti-PD1 therapy. This overcomes the resistance to immune checkpoint inhibitors targeting PD1 in immunotherapy alone.
LISCure Biosciences provides Bacteria-mediated Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy for cancer treatment is often ineffective due to multiple mechanisms by which tumor cells resist Immunotherapy. In recent years, pharma startups have realized the potential of live biotherapeutics in reducing cancer resistance mechanisms. This, in turn, improves the outcome of Immunotherapy in combination therapies.
LISCure Biosciences is a South Korean startup that advances bacteria-mediated immunotherapy. It provides live biotherapeutics that modulate the patients’ immune systems. The startup’s pipeline includes drugs for oncology, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), neurodegenerative diseases, and autoimmune diseases. The drugs deliver immunotherapy either as standalone agents or in combination with other drugs.
Qameleon Therapeutics offers Oncology Combination Therapy
Oncology drugs are generally expensive and often provide limited benefits to patients in advanced stages. This makes them out of the reach of a vast majority of cancer patients globally. This is why pharma startups are utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) and omics technologies to repurpose existing drugs for cancer treatment. Startups also investigate combinations of existing drugs that provide a synergistic effect.
Qameleon Therapeutics is a Dutch startup that develops combination drugs for oncology. The startup uses functional genomics to identify new indications for combinations of existing drugs, reducing development costs. It is repurposing Qamelostat, generically known as suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, for cancer treatment. The startup’s solutions advance the development of oncology drugs that overcome cancer resistance.
ImmunSYS develops a Triple-Component Drug
Some pharma startups take a different approach to combination therapies. Instead of using two or more different drugs, they put multiple therapeutic modalities on the same drug molecule. This further saves development and production costs while offering the benefits of combination therapy. Moreover, drugs with multiple components modulate multiple pathways, enabling more sophisticated mechanisms of action.
US-based startup ImmunSYS develops a triple-component drug for immunotherapy. The startup’s platform technology, YourVaccx, combines antigen exposure with immunotherapy. Its triple-component drug lyses the tumor cells and delivers checkpoint blockade and immune stimulatory agents. By selectively attacking cancer cells, the startup’s therapy improves outcomes in late-stage metastatic prostate cancers.
Discover more Pharma Startups
Pharma startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on cell therapy, digital therapeutics, and cancer drugs. While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing the pharma industry, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more pharma technologies, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download our free Pharma Innovation Report to save your time and improve strategic decision-making.
