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 solutions for diarrhea.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Top Solutions for Diarrhea out of 130
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 130 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 125 solutions for diarrhea, get in touch.
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Lumen Bioscience develops Neutralizing Antibody Cocktails
Biologics are effective in the treatment of pathogens such as diarrhea and gastroenteritis. However, diarrhea is often caused by the presence of more pathogens. This lowers the efficacy of a single antibiotic as other strains continue to persist. This is why pharma startups are investigating antibody cocktails for the effective treatment of diarrhea.
Lumen Bioscience is a US-based startup that develops algae-based therapeutic proteins. The startup’s lead drug candidate is a neutralizing antibody cocktail that treats traveler’s diarrhea. It includes protein biologics that bind to and deactivate bacterial pathogens that cause diarrhea. The startup’s pipeline also includes drugs for norovirus enteritis and cardiometabolic disease (CMD) and a malaria vaccine.
VectivBio develops Synthetic Analogs
At the root cause of diarrhea are mechanistic mechanisms such as poor intestinal absorption of water. Small molecule drugs treat diarrhea by manipulating these mechanisms and reversing the disease state. Pharma startups and scaleups alike are developing synthetic analogs of metabolites involved in diarrhea. These antidiarrheal drugs generally antagonize or inhibit particular pathways, leading to an effective response.
Swiss startup VectivBio provides drugs for rare diseases. Its lead candidate targets short bowel syndrome (SBS), a chronic condition marked by persistent diarrhea and dehydration. Apraglutide, is the startup’s synthetic analog of glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2). By improving the intestinal absorption of fluids, it provides relief to patients of diarrhea and similar diseases on the spectrum.
GlyProVac makes Bacterial Vaccines
Bacterial vaccines are emerging as a novel treatment for diseases caused by pathogenic bacteria. These vaccines mimic the natural infection, leading to a higher immune response. Pharma startups are leveraging omics technologies to identify and optimize antigens for bacterial vaccines. These vaccines generally target the carbohydrates on pathogen surfaces.
GlyProVac is a Danish startup developing bacterial vaccines. Using mass spectrometry and glycomics, the startup’s BEMAP platform identifies glycoprotein antigens for vaccine development. These vaccines utilize glycosylation signatures to generate an immune response. In addition to diarrhea, GlyProVac is working on bacterial vaccines for neonatal meningitis, urinary tract infections (UTI), and infections.
Immunic Therapeutics offers Oral Immunology Therapies
Crohn’s disease (CD) is an inflammatory disease marked with chronic diarrhea and abdominal pain. Although the disease is highly common, there are no curative treatments. Moreover, most available treatments only manage the symptoms by lowering the immune response. Pharma startups are innovating with novel oral therapies that modulate inflammation on a molecular level to improve treatment outcomes.
US-based startup Immunic Therapeutics offers selective oral immunology therapies. Its lead drug, IMU-838, targets CD, as well as ulcerative colitis, multiple sclerosis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis. By inhibiting dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH), the drug modulates the inflammation in the gut. The startup’s other programs include oral therapies for psoriasis, prostate cancer, and gastrointestinal (GI) disorders.
Exeliom Biosciences develops Microbiome-based Therapeutics
Immunosuppressive approaches for the treatment of chronic diarrhea often have unintended long-term consequences. For instance, even when physicians manage to control Crohn’s disease, it often resurfaces. That is why pharma startups are leveraging advances in microbiomics to develop more effective long-lasting treatments. Live biotherapeutics utilize communication between the microbiome and the immune system to generate anti-inflammatory responses.
French startup Exeliom Biosciences provides microbiome-based therapeutics. The startup’s lead candidate, EXL01, uses the Faecalibacterium prausnitzii bacterium as a live biotherapeutic agent. It improves the remission periods and overall quality of life for Crohn’s disease patients. The startup is also investigating EXL101 in combination therapy for induction ulcerative colitis.
Discover more Pharma Startups
Pharma startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on cell therapies, gene therapies, and combination 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.
