IPIRA Startups

IPIRA Startups

OnWafer Technologies, Inc.

Brief Description

OnWafer Technologies, Inc. manufactures lithography and plasma etch products to the semiconductor industry. The company's products include Baketemp, which allows temperature monitoring of resist track bake plates; Onview data analysis system, a process viewing system; Bakeinfo analysis engine, which tracks the thermal profile of various plates for viewing and identifying excursion events; Autocal, a software application; AutoCD, which pushes the servo point forward; and SmartFOUP that contains sealed on-board diagnostics systems. Its mobile metrology solutions feature...

Sensetics

Brief Description

Sensetics is taking human and machine touch interaction into the digital age, providing the hardware and software to record, edit, and transmit touch.

Sensetics Touch Signature™ programmable fabrics, backed by AI-powered touch capture and editing software, grant a user the ability to experience in real time what a remotely operated vehicle, surgical tool, robot, or other user is touching, at the same resolution as the nerve endings in our fingertips.

The company was co-founded by UC Berkeley Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Xiaoyu (...

Chiron Corporation

Brief Description

Chiron Corporation was an American biotechnology company engaged in biopharmaceuticals, vaccines and blood testing. Chiron was co-founded in 1981 by UC Berkeley biochemistry professor Edward Penhoet.

Timeline 1981. Company founded 1990. Company Initial Public Offering on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol of CHIR. 2006. Acquired by Novartis Inventors

Henry Chang, Felix Karim, Gerald Rubin, Marc Therrien, David Wassarman

Tularik Inc.

Brief Description

Tularik, Inc. engages in the discovery and development of orally available medicines that act through the regulation of gene expression. The company’s drugs include T67, T607, T131, T71, and T487. The T67 is an anti-cancer drug. The T607 would be used for treating gastric cancer and esophageal cancer. The T131 would be used for treating diabetes. The T71 would be used for treating obesity.

Tularik was co-founded in 1991 by UC Berkeley Professor Robert Tjian. Amgen acquired Tularik for $1.3 billion in 2004.

Timeline 1991. Company founded...

Exelixis, Inc.

Brief Description

Exelixis, Inc. is a commercially successful, oncology-focused biotechnology company that strives to accelerate the discovery, development and commercialization of new medicines for difficult-to-treat cancers. Following early work in model genetic systems, the company established a broad drug discovery and development platform that has served as the foundation for its continued efforts to bring new cancer therapies to patients in need. The company developed CABOMETYX® (cabozantinib), COMETRIQ® (cabozantinib) and COTELLIC® (cobimetinib), and partnered with leading...

Resvita Biosciences

Brief Description

Resvita Biosciences seeks to restore and maintain the vitality of the skin by properly considering the skin microbiome as part of the human body. A harmless skin probiotic will continuously deliver the therapy that a body would to maintain skin health.

Through synthetic biology and metabolic engineering, the company's goal is to develop a safe and versatile skin microbial platform that can address the causes of skin aging and disease. Resvita Biosciences has a unique patented approach, a rich product pipeline, clear regulatory advantages, and an experienced...

Inapill

Brief Description

Inapill is developing novel therapeutics that tune immune cell metabolism (immunometabolism) to treat diseases caused by immune system overactivation and excessive inflammation.

The company was co-founded by Greg Timblin and Josh Farahzad. CEO Timblin earned his Ph.D. in Molecular & Cell Biology from UC Berkeley in 2014, in the labs of Professors Mark Schlissel and Robert Tjian. He also served as a postdoctoral fellow in Professor Kaoru Saijo’s lab at UC Berkeley, and then in Professor Val Weaver’s lab at UCSF.

Timeline...

Nurix

Brief Description

Nurix is pioneering rational drug design in the emerging field of protein regulation by targeting E2 conjugating enzymes and E3 ligases that control the Ubiquitin Proteasome System (UPS).

Regulation of protein stability by the UPS is modulated by the activity of these E2 and E3 enzymes, which control the tagging of proteins with ubiquitin for degradation by the proteasome. The human genome encodes approximately 1,000 different E3 ligases and 60 E2 enzymes. A number of these ligases recently have been shown to play key roles in human diseases, particularly in cancer...

Spotlight Therapeutics

Brief Description

Developer of next-generation gene editing therapeutics in a preclinical pipeline. The company creates programmable nucleases that selectively target and edit specific cell populations directly in the body. These engineered nucleases will enable direct intervention in vivo like a true administered biologic. Spotlight Therapeutics co-founders include Dr. Patrick Hsu, a UC Berkeley Assistant Professor of Bioengineering and co-founder of the Arc Institute.

Timeline 2017. Company founded. Inventors

Colleen McGourty, Lorena de Onate, Ross...

Apertor Pharmaceuticals

Brief Description

Apertor creates novel molecular glues for therapeutic applications in multiple disease areas. The company applies a world-class synthetic biology platform using non-model organisms, a deep knowledge of complex natural products relevant to human health, and a computational pipeline enabled by structure-guided design. The result is a first-in-class approach to solving important pharmacological problems and delivering new, high-value treatment options for patients. The company was co-founded by UC Berkeley Professor of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and of...