IPIRA Startups

IPIRA Startups

Stylus Medicine

Brief Description

Stylus Medicine has created a new gene editing technology based on viral proteins called recombinases. These proteins naturally insert large swaths of DNA into bacterial genomes, but Stylus used machine learning to design recombinases that target specific regions of the human genome. The method is based on the pioneering work of Patrick Hsu, UC Berkeley assistant professor of bioengineering and co-founder and a core investigator of the Arc Institute. The company is on a mission to develop next-generation therapies for disease through genome engineering and chromatin...

EditPep, Inc.

Brief Description

CRISPR therapies enabled by a simple, potent delivery platform. The biotechnology company creates a class of peptides capable of delivering CRISPR enzymes into clinically-relevant and previously untransfectable cell types, enabling clients to get CRISPR therapies.

Inventors

Ross Wilson, Dana Foss, Alexander Marson, Srishti Sahu, David-Huy Nguyen, John Hunsinger, Daniel Carr

Company Founders

Dana Foss (UC Berkeley postdoc 2017-2022), UC Berkeley Assistant Adjunct Professor of Molecular Therapeutics Ross Wilson

Timeline 2021...

Two Blades Foundation

Brief Description

2Blades was established as a 501(c)3 charitable organization to implement practical uses of important innovations in plant science that address the rising incidence of crop disease. Working together with world leading scientists in plant-pathogen interactions, 2Blades has scouted and supported the most significant advances in the understanding of plant disease and immunity, as well as enabling technologies to develop disease resistant crops.

Remarkable advances have been realized in plant science over the past twenty years, including genome sequencing,...

QSX Bio

Brief Description

Developing medical therapeutics and vaccines through biosynthesis of natural compounds in plants.

Inventors

Jay Keasling, Yuzhong Liu, Henrik Scheller, Xiaoyue Chen, Samantha Aiko Crowe, James Reed, Laetitia Martin, Graham Arthur Hudson, Fei Gan

Company Founders

Yuzhong Liu

Timeline 2025. Company founded

Vivere Oncotherapies

Brief Description

Gene and cell therapies for cancer.

Inventors

Adam Schieferecke, John Dueber, David Schaffer, Juan Eduardo Hurtado, Hyun-Cheol Lee

Company Founders

Wanichaya Noiwangklang, Adam Schieferecke (UC Berkeley, Ph.D., Doctor of Philosophy, Mollecular and Cellular Biology), Juan Hurtado, Hyuncheol Lee, David Schaffer, John Dueber

Timeline 2024. Company founded.

Avista Therapeutics

Brief Description

Avista Therapeutics develops innovative gene therapies for retinal diseases, including rare ophthalmic conditions that have a profound impact on quality of life. The company leverage a computationally guided scAAVengr platform to generate and validate a toolkit of proprietary AAV vectors. A quantitative, in vivo-based approach and clinical ophthalmology expertise allows Avista Therapeutics to rapidly translate new gene therapies to the clinic.

Inventors

Stephen Graf Brohawn, Hillel Adesnik, Madeline McCloud

Company Founders

Leah Byrne (UC Berkeley PhD, 2007...

DNA Nanobots, LLC

Brief Description

DNA Nanobots is focused on developing the next generation of targeted nanomedicines and reshaping gene therapy by delivering genes previously considered undeliverable. Utilizing precise DNA self-assembly (DNA origami), the company engineers nanobots designed to carry and release therapeutic payloads directly to diseased cells with unprecedented specificity, minimizing systemic toxicity, and maximizing treatment efficacy.

Inventors

Jennifer Doudna, Enrique Lin Shiao, Rachael Lew

Company Founders

Patrick Halley, Christopher Lucas, Carlos Castro, Adel Mikhail...

ZestBio

Brief Description A biotechnology company harnessing synthetic biology to convert the low value, abundant fruit and vegetable byproducts like citrus peels and sugar beet pulp into useful products such as household cleaning ingredients, bio-based plastics, vitamins, and other specialty chemicals, thereby enabling customers to receive renewable, eco-friendly products at a reasonable cost. Inventors

John Dueber, Ryan Joseph Protzko

Company Founders

John Dueber, Luke Latimer (UC Berkeley, Ph.D., Doctor of Philosophy, 2017, Chemistry), Ryan Protzko (UC Berkeley, Ph.D.,...

Zephyrus Biosciences, Inc.

Brief Description

This life science research tools company was spun out of technology developed in the UC Berkeley bioengineering department. Zephyrus Biosciences developed medical research tools for single-cell analyses, enabling high resolution biology. The company's first product, called Milo, was a benchtop instrument that allowed researchers to search for specific proteins in about 1,000 single cells at once. This improved western blotting instrument made it possible to analyze individual cells for the first time. The high-throughput and high-selectivity protein fingerprinting gave...

YourChoice Therapeutics

Brief Description

YourChoice Therapeutics is revolutionizing birth control options for women and men by developing hormone-free contraceptives and bringing them to market. Our technology is the result of a decade of research at the University of California, Berkeley and has been published in numerous high-impact journals.

Inventors

Yuriy Kirichok, Polina Lishko, Nadja Mannowetz, Melissa Miller

Company Founders

Nadja Mannowetz, Akash Bakshi

Timeline 2018. Company founded