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Valitor Presents Multiple Preclinical Datasets on the Potential of its Innovative Anti-VEGF Therapy

“VLTR-559 was developed using our pioneering MVP technology platform and was designed to be an anti-VEGF therapy with increased potency and extended therapeutic duration compared to the current standard-of-care anti-VEGF biologics,” said Wesley Jackson, Ph.D., president and chief scientific officer of Valitor. “Based on our clinical modeling from preclinical results, we anticipate VLTR-559 could enable a twice-yearly dosing regimen for patients with wet AMD, thereby improving long-term outcomes while also reducing the clinical costs required to treat this disease. We are making great progress through IND-enabling activities with the goal of initiating a Phase 1 clinical study next year. Additionally, we are excited by the broader potential of our MVP platform, which is based on our proprietary methods of combining large molecular weight hyaluronic acid biopolymers with diverse active pharmaceutical ingredients to create potent and long-acting drugs.”

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plant science

Verinomics and Pinnacle Seed Form Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Innovation in Leafy Greens

Verinomics, a leader in agricultural genomics and gene editing, and Pinnacle Seed, a premier supplier of elite leafy green varieties, today announced a strategic partnership to combine top-tier genetics with cutting-edge breeding and gene editing technologies. The 5-year collaboration aims to develop next-generation leafy green varieties with enhanced disease resistance, improved yield, and superior agronomic profiles to address critical challenges facing growers and the entire supply chain. Read post
Keylika founders, Buddha Chaudhuri, CEO (left) and Frederik Ceyssens, CTO (right)

Keylika Develops World’s First Buccal Patch for Iron Deficiency Anemia

“Most people have no idea how debilitating iron deficiency anemia can be. As a critical micronutrient, iron has a foundational role to play in multiple biological processes in the body down to the cellular level, its uncorrected deficiency has far-reaching consequences,” says Buddha Chaudhuri, Ph.D., CEO of Biotech company, Keylika. After years working on drug delivery and medical devices, Keylika’s team has pioneered what could be a breakthrough solution: the world’s first buccal (oral) patch for treating iron deficiency. Read post
ray therapeutics

Ray Therapeutics Awarded $8M CIRM Grant to Advance RTx-015 Gene Therapy for Retinitis Pigmentosa

“Retinitis pigmentosa remains a devastating condition with no approved treatments for the vast majority of patients,” said Paul Bresge, CEO & Co-Founder, Ray Therapeutics. “We are deeply grateful to CIRM for their belief in our science and their continued support of our programs. We are honored to partner with CIRM as we advance therapies that have the potential to transform the lives of patients.” Read post

Bootstrapped Indian Startup Innovating Treatment for Eczema, Itch & Beyond

When personal health challenges inspire innovation, remarkable solutions can emerge. Such is the story behind NistuHeal, a breakthrough dermocosmetic product addressing eczema and chronic itch. After suffering from relentless eczema for a decade, Buddhadev "Buddha" Chaudhuri, Ph.D. and CEO of Keylika, turned his scientific expertise toward creating a better treatment. What began as a kitchen experiment has evolved into a successful family-run enterprise delivering relief to thousands across India. Read post
The Vivere team. L-R: Dave Schaffer, John Dueber, Melissa Kotterman, Noem Noiwangklang, Hyuncheol Lee, Adam Schieferecke. Photo taken during JP Morgan Healthcare week in SF. Courtesy Vivere.

Seeing the Tumors Again: How Vivere Oncotherapies is Unmasking Cancer

“One of the ways tumors grow within the body is that they can hide from the immune system, says Melissa Kotterman, CEO of Bakar Bio Labs’ newest tenant, Vivere Oncotherapies. “Our technology helps the immune system see the tumors again. We can wake up the immune system and say, ‘Hey, there’s a tumor over here, you can come get it.’” Vivere is engineering a platform to carry and improve the performance of oncolytic viruses that invade and replicate within the cancer cells, signalling the immune system to attack the tumor. Co-founders Hyuncheol Lee and Adam Schieferecke have shown that the engineering platform can be used to improve distribution through the tumor, decrease the tumor size, and increase survival compared to a non-engineered version in a mouse model of colorectal cancer. Read post
gigacrop

Forbes: A Possible Step-Change for Plant Growth By Upgrading Photosynthesis

GigaCrop was founded by CEO Chris Eiben in 2020 as part of a fellowship with the Berkeley Lab Cyclotron Road program in partnership with non-profit Activate funded by the U.S. DOE., and today (March 11th 2025) they announced $4.5 million of pre-seed round funding led by a venture capital group in California called Playground Global. Read post
gigacrop

GigaCrop to Advance Photosynthesis for Boosted Crop Productivity

Biotech pioneer GigaCrop today announced it raised a $4.5 million pre-seed round of funding led by Playground Global. Using machine learning to improve enzymes, the company aims to boost photosynthesis, crop yields, and farmers’ profits. GigaCrop’s technology will help plants use sunlight more efficiently, enabling agricultural producers of food, fiber, and fuel to grow more with the same water, fertilizer, and acreage. Read post
pitchbook

PitchBook Report – Emerging Space Brief: Longevity Tech

Standout deals include NewLimit’s $72.3 million raise to advance epigenetic rejuvenation and Cyclarity Therapeutics’ $10.3 million round to push forward its senolytic platform. Despite regulatory gray areas and a long road to clinical validation, momentum is building as longevity biotech shifts from speculative science to a potential cornerstone of future healthcare. Read post
Representative images of Netherton Syndrome mice treated daily with either standard of care (left) or RVB-003 (right). Mice treated with RVB-003 show resolution of excessive protease activity, normalization of inflammation, marked reduction in epidermal hyperplasia, and ultimately a restoration of a healthy skin barrier.

ResVita Bio Announces RVB-003 granted Orphan Drug Designation for Netherton Syndrome by the FDA

ResVita Bio, a therapeutics company focused on treatments for skin diseases, today announced that the FDA awarded the Orphan Drug Designation to RVB-003 for the treatment of Netherton Syndrome, a chronic and life-threatening skin disorder. This milestone, following the FDAs previous granting of the Rare Pediatric Disease Designation, underscores the impact of ResVita Bio's new platform for continuous protein therapy—a groundbreaking therapeutic approach designed to deliver sustained drug levels directly to the skin, supporting both greater efficacy and improved safety over other topicals. Read post
Marco Lobba and Sophia Lugo

Marco Lobba and Sophia Lugo Named to San Francisco Business Times 40 Under 40

Many people don’t end up in the jobs they wanted when they were four years old. But Catena Biosciences CEO Marco Lobba and Radar Therapeutics CEO Sophia Lugo aren’t most people — a fact that didn’t escape the San Francisco Business Times. For their innovative contributions to biotech and precision medicine — Lobba with CatenaBio’s Multi-Payload Conjugate™ antibody-drug combinations, Lugo with Radar’s targeted mRNA therapies — the SF Business Times named both Lobba and Lugo to their 2025 “40 Under 40” class of honorees, recognizing them as two of the most influential and industrious leaders in the Bay Area. The awards will be presented on Friday, April 25 at the Westin St. Francis in San Francisco. Read post

Banksy Tags Bakar Bio Labs

Since the 60’s, Berkeley has been home of free expression, though never through graffiti. But Gino Segre, MD, was surprised to found a crowd had formed near the front entrance of Bakar BioEnginuity Hub Tuesday morning. Students, faculty, and other passersby numbering in the dozens were staring at unauthorized artwork painted on the front facade of the Brutalist landmark building. The installation provoked varied responses, many nodding vigorously that it was vibrant, bold, profane, and timely. An employee pressed through the crowd on her way into work, and muttered it looked like her recently contaminated cell culture. Read post
Oki O'Connor, Michael Kope, Amelia Anderson

How Cyclarity Therapeutics is Taking On the World’s Leading Killer

You think you don’t know someone with atherosclerosis, but it’s likely you actually do. Atherosclerosis is the build-up of oxidized cholesterol in arteries, an underlying factor in an astonishing 50% of deaths in Western society. An indicator of dementia, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, lung disease, and more, it’s one of the first detectable signs of aging. As co-founder and CEO of scientific affairs at Cyclarity Therapeutics, Matthew “Oki” O’Connor directs a team developing a drug to neutralize this killer. Oki’s potentially life-saving breakthrough came in the form of the least scientific experiment imaginable. In early 2018, he worked in Mountain View at the SENS Research Foundation, which is dedicated to finding cures for aging-related disease. It was on a quiet Friday night when everyone in the lab was either out sick, traveling, or home, that he decided to test out their first prototype. Read post
mother with her child in a farm

Verinomics Introduces Transgene-Free Gene Editing and Genomic-Driven Accelerated Breeding Platforms for Specialty Crops

Verinomics, a leader in agricultural genomics and gene editing, today unveiled two breakthrough platforms designed to accelerate specialty crop innovation: Genesis™, a transgene-free gene editing platform, primarily for vegetatively propagated crops and Genova™, a genomic-driven breeding acceleration platform for both seed and vegetatively propagated crops. Together, these technologies streamline trait discovery and product development, delivering high-value, market-ready crops faster than ever before. Read post