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Berlin, 15.5.2023 – Nia Health, a spin-off of Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, offers digital solutions for the treatment and support of sufferers of chronic skin conditions. Its products include digital therapeutics, such as the leading atopic dermatitis app Nia, and technologies for monitoring patients and conducting clinical trials. The start-up has now received €3.5 million in a seed funding round. The lead investor is High-Tech Gründerfonds. The other investors were adesso ventures, Ventura BioMed Investors, the fund of pharmaceutical industry expert Dr. Kurt Schwarz, and other investors.

The fresh capital will be used for expansion: It is planned to expand the market share in German-speaking countries, launch in other EU countries in the next 24 months and prepare for the US market entry.

Furthermore, the funding will be used to further develop the innovative, AI-based technology that integrates machine vision, natural language processing and teledermatology. The company’s technology is currently being used in a total of five clinical studies, including one at the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin to investigate the therapy-accompanying effectiveness of the Nia App – with success: “The Nia Health solution used in the randomised, controlled study shows positive effects on the patients’ quality of life,” emphasises Prof. Dr. med. Margitta Worm, allergist and immunologist at the Charité.

“The seed funding allows us to massively expand our AI and development capabilities to best address the individual needs of patients with chronic skin conditions,” says Oliver Welter, co-founder and CTO of Nia Health. “In addition, we benefit from the cross-sector expertise of our strong consortium of investors. With Ventura BioMed Investors, we have a partner with many years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry on board, while in parallel we can draw on adesso’s expertise to scale our IT landscape.”

Nia Health’s expertise in the area of real world evidence is particularly promising for the future. In contrast to clinical trials, the data shows how therapies are actually used. Pharmaceutical companies and other providers of therapeutic services can use this data to significantly improve care. The growing importance of real world evidence is reflected in Nia Health’s figures: last year alone, the start-up more than doubled its revenue compared to 2021. Its partners include Sanofi, Pfizer, LEO Pharma as well as large statutory health insurers such as the Kaufmännische Krankenkasse KKH or AOK PLUS.

“We have been following the development of Nia Health since its establishment and have been convinced by the venture’s capital-efficient growth in recent years. In the market for real world evidence, we see massive potential – especially in dermatology, where Nia Health addresses an acute gap in care,” says Niels Sharman, Investment Manager at High-Tech Gründerfonds.

Andreas Jenne, CEO of Ventura BioMed Investors, adds: “The founders of Nia Health excited me from the beginning. They understood how to cooperate with insurance companies and the industry at an early stage and thus generate significant revenues.”

About Nia Health

Nia Health is a spin-off of the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The start-up develops a clinical diagnosis and therapy system for the continuous digital support of patients with chronic skin conditions. With its platform, Nia Health addresses an often highly underserved patient population and generates treatment-relevant real world evidence. With its innovative machine vision approach, Nia Health enables accurate documentation of disease and therapy progression and thus optimised treatment. The company works closely with German patient associations and leading clinicians and has already won reputable customers from the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. Amongst others, the Berlin-based company has developed the award-winning apps in the fields of atopic dermatitis (Nia) and psoriasis (Sorea), which were the first digital medical products of their kind to be approved worldwide. The digital medical solutions from Nia Health provide daily support for thousands of patients and their families.

Since the introduction of CGM more than 20 years ago, people with diabetes have searched for a more convenient solution to manage their disease. At RSP Systems, we are developing the world’s first non-invasive glucose monitor. We have recently entered into a collaboration with a global leader within the field of VCSEL laser technology, Trumpf Photonics, in order to further miniaturize our technology, ultimately into a wearable form factor.

Together, we are effectively working towards integrating our highly advanced non-invasive glucose monitoring technology with customized VCSEL lasers from Trumpf Photonics, and packaging this into a wearable. Trumpf Photonics’ expert knowledge on VCSEL lasers and their impressive miniaturizing laser technology, combined with RSP Systems’ knowledge within the field of non-invasive glucose monitoring, builds a solid foundation for a strong and meaningful collaboration for the future benefit of people with diabetes, worldwide.

The collaboration between RSP Systems and Trumpf Photonics is an idea fit that will lead to the first-ever clinically relevant wearable non-invasive glucose sensor – brining us one step closer to solving the impeding global health crisis.

More news from RSP Systems

Schönefeld/Berlin, 26. September 2022 – Kupando, a pioneering biopharmaceutical company developing TLR 4/7 agonists that stimulate innate immunity for use in oncology and infectious diseases, announces today the closing of its Series A funding round which raised €13 million.

The funds will be used to complete IND-enabling work and to initiate the clinical development of Kupando’s lead candidate KUP101 in a solid tumor indication. KUP101 is the only TLR 4/7 agonist in development, and consists of two small molecules, a TLR 4 agonist and a TLR 7 agonist, co-encapsulated in a liposomal formulation. The compounds induce a broad immune response, which will facilitate their development as an anti-tumor agent, as a stand-alone product, in combination with other anti-tumor modalities, or a prophylactic vaccine for infectious diseases. The induction of cross-reactive antibodies and a broad cellular response are promising features for a broad portfolio of indications, in particular where different strains and antigens play a role like influenza, HPV and others. A high target specificity in the absence of relevant off-targets are indicators for a promising safety profile.

The investment was led by Remiges Ventures and co-led by Life Care Partners with an additional investment by Brandenburg Kapital, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Ventura Biomed Investors and undisclosed family offices.

Kazuhiko Nonomura, PhD Principal at Remiges Ventures, the lead investor said: “We are impressed by the tremendous progress made by Kupando since its inception. Kupando is a real pioneer in the development of a novel innate immunity stimulator, and we look forward to working with the team and supporting the advancement of KUP101 into clinical development.”

Pierre Morgon, PharmD, LL.M, MBA, Chairman at Kupando commented: “We are welcoming all our new investors of this round. We thank them for their trust in this truly disruptive approach which has the potential to provide new therapeutic and prophylactic options in the fields of oncology and infectious diseases. We believe that the highly experienced management team will enable the company to progress through this next stage of development.”

Johanna Holldack, CEO at Kupando added: “Having new investors choosing to fund us is a great validation of our company strategy and pioneering approach, and we look forward to advancing our lead candidate towards clinical development thanks to their support. It is really exciting to now have the opportunity to develop compounds that can make a difference in the treatment of solid tumors and prevention of infectious diseases in terms of efficacy, safety and affordability.

The Kupando Board comprises of Pierre Morgon, PharmD, LL.M, MBA, as Chairman and Wolfram Nothaft, MD, as Deputy Chairman, and of three Board members: Kazuhiko Nonomura, PhD (representing Remiges Ventures), Gerhard Ries, PhD (representing LifeCare Partners) and Thomas Krause (representing Brandenburg Kapital).

Munich, Germany, April 11, 2022 – SciRhom GmbH announced today that it has nominated the anti-iRhom2 antibody it will advance into clinical development. For this antibody, the company has closed an agreement with a top-tier biopharmaceutical manufacturer for the CMC development. This first-in-class drug candidate has demonstrated outstanding preclinical efficacy in treating rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Having completed the comprehensive characterization of the molecule, SciRhom will now enter into IND-enabling activities.

“We are very pleased with the latest progress we have made towards bringing this promising therapeutic concept closer to the clinic,” says Chief Executive Officer Dr. Jens Ruhe. “Our research and development team did a fantastic job in delivering this excellent molecule. The nominated antibody fulfills all attributes for a successful pharmaceutical development. We expect our clinical candidate to outperform standard of care medications and become an attractive treatment option for patients suffering from debilitating diseases.” SciRhom’s drug candidate inhibits the cell surface-localized protein iRhom2, a critical regulator of the protease TACE (TNF-alpha-converting enzyme, ADAM17). By interfering with this complex, the anti-iRhom2 antibody allows the simultaneous blockade of several pro-inflammatory signaling pathways without impairing protective functions. The therapeutic relevance of SciRhom’s antibody may also extend beyond autoimmunity, as research evidence suggests potential benefits of iRhom2 inhibition for multiple therapeutic areas including inflammation, oncology, infectious and metabolic diseases.

About SciRhom GmbH

SciRhom GmbH, based in IZB Martinsried, Germany, is a biotech company that translates science into the preclinical and early clinical development of novel biopharmaceuticals for the treatment of life-threatening autoimmune diseases. Based on longstanding academic research conducted at Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) and a well-established network of experts, SciRhom was founded in 2016 through a collaboration between
academic and industry scientists with profound experience in antibody development. Since then, the company has developed first-in-class anti-iRhom2 antibodies and nominated a candidate for clinical studies. Four comprehensive patent families cover the company’s anti-iRhom2 antibodies and iRhom2-target epitopes, securing exclusivity and protection against me-too drugs. To date, SciRhom has successfully acquired seed funding from the High-Tech Gruenderfonds (HTGF), Hospital for Special Surgery, and other institutional and private investors.

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