Healthtech
Q4 202306.11.2023

Biotech

Picture of Jonathan Sinclair

Jonathan Sinclair

at Sifted

After a slow start to the year in Q1 — the worst quarter for investment since Q1 2020 — biotech is experiencing a flurry of dealmaking, with an uptick in M&As, big raises and new drug approvals.

Medicines for immunologic disorders, and newer modalities such as cell and gene therapies and mRNA (the technology’s success against Covid-19 has yet to be replicated in other vaccines), have renewed interest from specialist investors.

Look out, too, for a wave of companies piling into neuroscience following the breakthrough of Swedish company BioArtic, whose first commercially available drug candidate, Lecanemab, created with the Japanese drugmaker Eisai and US company Biogen, was approved by the FDA in July to treat Alzheimer’s.

20 most promising early-stage startups

  • Mestag Therapeutics logo

    Sifted score

    8.08
    -

    Mestag Therapeutics

    Modulating immune response for non-responsive patients

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring
    • Year founded

      2020

    • HQ

      Little Chesterford, United Kingdom

    • Latest round

      Seed
      30.9m / Aug 2021

    • Total funding

      40.9m

  • Pheon Therapeutics logo

    Sifted score

    7.87
    -

    Pheon Therapeutics

    Targeted cancer therapies for resistant cancers

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Year founded

      2022

    • HQ

      London, United Kingdom

    • Latest round

      Series A
      61.8m / Sep 2022

    • Total funding

      61.8m

  • Mnemo Therapeutics logo

    Sifted score

    7.87
    -

    Mnemo Therapeutics

    Immunotherapies targeting cancer antigens

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Hiring
    • Year founded

      2019

    • HQ

      Paris, France

    • Latest round

      Series A
      75m / Jun 2021

    • Total funding

      75m

  • SpyBiotech logo

    Sifted score

    7.77
    -

    SpyBiotech

    Antigen binding for vaccines

    • Strong investor(s)
    • Serial founder(s)
    • Year founded

      2017

    • HQ

      Oxford, United Kingdom

    • Latest round

      Grant
      3.7m / Mar 2023

    • Total funding

      38.1m

  • ADCendo logo

    Sifted score

    7.61
    -

    ADCendo

    Targeted cancer treatments for unmet needs

    • Serial founder(s)
    • Year founded

      2017

    • HQ

      Copenhagen, Denmark

    • Latest round

      Series A
      31m / Apr 2023

    • Total funding

      82m

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