Novalis Biotech Acceleration

Carroucell is disrupting the biomanufacturing sector with its patented, innovative microcarrier and flexible process solution for customers. The microcarriers are based on a major innovation in the field of sol-gel process, which allows the production of bioactive microstructures not achievable by existing technologies.

In the bioreactor, cells can cling and multiply in “3D” which allows cultivation of a large quantity of cells in a restricted volume. Carroucell has a partnership with Etablissement Français du Sang (EFS), which enabled the validation of its microcarriers and facilitated first commercial orders. Carroucell was founded in 2016 by Tarek Fathallah.

For more information, visit www.carroucell.com.

Alithea Genomics has developed a proprietary technology called Bulk RNA Barcoding and sequencing (BRB-seq), which enables the preparation of hundreds of RNA samples for sequencing in a single tube. By drastically decreasing the cost and time associated with library preparation for RNA sequencing, the BRB-seq technology enables for the first time the application of high-content and unbiased gene expression analysis to very large-scale projects, such as biobank functionalization and high-throughput drug screening.

Alithea Genomics was founded in May 2020 at the EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. More information can be found at www.alitheagenomics.com.

Trince is dedicated to advancing cell-based science and therapeutics by facilitating the delivery of molecules into cells, both in vitro and ex vivo. The company’s LumiPore transfection platform, which is covered by a portfolio of pending patents, is used to deliver a wide variety of effector molecules (e.g. nucleic acids or proteins) into virtually any cell type, including hard-to-transfect cells such as immune cells for cell therapies. The technology ensures that this is done in a gentle manner, maximizing the therapeutic quality of the final cell product. www.trincebio.com

Modality.AI, Inc. (“Modality”) has developed the first multimodal assessment platform to track the progression of neurological and psychiatric diseases through the analysis of facial musculature and phonetic enunciation, using a virtual agent to guide participants through standardized protocols. Modality’s rich, objective, and accurate audiovisual biomarkers expedite the development of therapies for diseases such as Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, depression, and autism, as well as the diagnosis and tracking of treatment efficacy at scale, as used by some of the leading clinical institutions in the world, including UCSF, MGH, NYU, Purdue, and the Charité.

Modality was founded by world-class AI experts with over 200 publications and issued patents and several successful exits. Modality is venture backed and based in San Francisco, CA.

RheaVita has developed a continuous, controlled freeze-drying technology that integrates all the traditional freeze-drying process steps into one continuous production line.

By spinning the glass vials during the freezing process, a thin layer of product coats the inner lining of the vial. Following drying, the final solid freeze-dried product is obtained. Compared to the traditional freeze-drying process, RheaVita’s approach has several advantages, including very fast product and process development with limited experimental efforts, avoiding scale-up issues, reducing cycle times, lower production costs, less clean room space requirements, improving quality assurance and improved and uniform product quality and process uniformity.

Grapheal develops wearable and disposable biosensors enabling continuous monitoring and in-field diagnosis. It empowers caregivers with an improved and individualized assessment tool for precision medicine. See more on www.grapheal.com

Enzyre, based in Nijmegen, The Netherlands, is a spin-out from Radboud University Medical Center, developing Enzypad, a near patient diagnostic and monitoring device initially focused on blood coagulation. Enzyre’s platform technology is unique as it requires just a small volume of blood and is able to measure up to twelve (12) biomarkers simultaneously without any laboratory infrastructure; at home, on the road or in a critical care setting. Enzyre’s proprietary technology is a small hand-held diagnostic tool using disease specific single use microfluidic cartridges with high sensitivity and specificity. It has broad applicability in several disease areas.