In recent years, the state of Delaware is becoming a hub for biotech startups and scaleups. From companies working on new treatments for cancer to those developing innovative technologies for the food and agriculture industry, these bio-businesses are making a big impact in the First State.
To help you keep up with the latest in Delaware biotech, we’ve compiled a list of our top 15 biostartups and scaleups picks. These companies are doing cutting-edge work in a variety of areas, including biopharma, medical devices, and diagnostics.
So, without further ado, here are the top 15 biotech startups and scaleups in Delaware:
1- Nextgen Biox
Year Founded- 2020
Location- Lewes, DE
CEO- Konstatin Cherkasov
Nextgen BioX is developing a mobile platform to grow human organs out of the lab. According to this biostartup, just in 8 weeks, NGBX was able to regulate and produce an organ from a lab.
2- Biomatik
Year Founded- 2002
Location- Wilmington, DE
Biomatik is a leading supplier of life science research products and services Some of their notable custom research services include gene synthesis, peptide and antibody production, and antibody sequencing service. The company also sells off-the-shelf products such as ELISA kits, antibodies, proteins, and biochemicals.
One of the claims to fame of this biotech supplier is that it has helped more than 10,000 scientists since it took the lead.
3- Acro Biosystems
Year Founded- 2010
Location- Newark, DE
CEO- Mike Yiding Chen
ACROBiosystems produces recombinant proteins as well as other reagents for biopharma development
According to the company, it spans the globe and maintains offices, R&D centers, and production bases in 12 different cities within the United States, Switzerland, England, Germany, and China. Also, ACROBiosystems Group has established numerous partnerships with big pharma, including Pfizer, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, and many academic institutes. The company comprises subsidiaries such as ACROBiosystems, bioSeedin, Condense Capital, and ACRODiagnostics.
Neovision Capital has funded ACROBiosystems. On April 5, 2017, ACROBiosystems concluded its latest fundraising round.
4- Zepteon
Year Founded- 2012
Location- Dover, DE
CEO- Austin W. Boesch
Zepteon, Inc. is a biostartup with a mission to lessen the impact of infectious diseases.
Zepteon has created a patented separation process for antibodies that enables the production of antiviral biologic treatments.
MIT Venture Mentoring Service provides funding for Zepteon. On April 16, 2015, Zepteon completed its latest investment round.
5- ANP Technologies
Year Founded- 2002
Location- Newark, DE
The U.S. Army Research Laboratory's spinoff business ANP Technologies, Inc., which specializes in nanobiotechnology, creates a variety of products based on its unique nanomaterials. Its goods can be used for a variety of purposes, such as the following:
- Drug delivery
- Detection of biowarfare agents
- Pesticides and chemical weapons of mass destruction found in water, food, and beverages
- Testing for immunogenicity of biotherapeutics
- Bioanalytical techniques, and test elements
- Protein extraction and removal kit
6- Bioptamers
Year Founded- 2018
Location- Lewes, DE
CEO- Erika Molina
The goal of Bioptamers' customized medicine development is to precisely detect cancer cells and administer therapeutic therapies with high precision. The biostartup uses an aptamer-based technology that, according to the company, is more effective, scalable, and affordable than those of other therapeutic classes such as monoclonal antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates, as well as cellular and gene treatments.
RebelBio and SOSV are two of Bioptamers' investors. Bioptamers' latest round of funding was completed on Mar. 25, 2019.
7- NiKang Therapeutics
Year Founded- 2017
Location- Wilmington, DE
CEO- Zhenhai Gao
NiKang Therapeutics is a biotech startup dedicated to discovering small-molecule immuno-oncology drugs.
Target structure biology and structure-based drug design are both utilized in this biotech's discovery process, which is in the clinical stage.
Along with Lilly Asia and EcoR1 Capital, NiKang Therapeutics has 23 investors. On May 26, 2021, NiKang Therapeutics announced the completion of its latest investment round.
8- NRx Pharmaceuticals
Year Founded- 2015
Location- Wilmington, DE
CEO- Stephen Willard
NRX Pharmaceuticals is a biopharma startup in the clinical stages that creates novel therapies for treating pulmonary diseases that can be fatal as well as problems of the central nervous system.
The U.S. FDA has given its NRX-101, an investigational drug for the treatment of severe bipolar depression in patients with acute suicidal ideation and behavior (ASIB), Breakthrough Therapy designation, a Special Protocol Agreement, and a Biomarker Letter of Support following initial stabilization with ketamine or another effective therapy.
The firm claims that the company's executives have held senior positions at Lilly, Pfizer, and Novartis, as well as significant investment banking organizations.
Kinled Holding is the source of funding for NRx Pharmaceuticals. The latest investment round for NRx Pharmaceuticals was completed on January 31, 2022.
9- Avobis Bio
Year Founded- 2019
Location- Newark, DE
CEO- Tiffany Johnson Brown
Avobis Bio, LLC is committed to advancing the development of implantable cell therapies to treat debilitating conditions without a cure In order to increase the efficiency of cells in promoting the body's ability to repair, the investigational portfolio investigates the use of mesenchymal stem cells in combination with bioabsorbable scaffolds.
In order to integrate expertise in clinical care, cell biology, materials science, and the marketing of medical products, the Mayo Clinic and W. L. Gore & Associates came together to start this joint biotech venture.
10- Speratum Biopharma
Year Founded- 2014
Location- Dover, DE
CEO- Christian Marin Muller
A biotechnology business called Speratum is focused on the research and development (R&D) of targeted molecular medicines for the treatment of cancer.
Carao Ventures is a notable investor in Speratum. On February 1st, 2018, Speratum announced the completion of its latest funding round.
11- Superbrewed Food Inc.
Year Founded- 2012
Location- New Castle, DE
CEO- Bryan Tracy
SuperBrewed Food is a biotechnology business built on the development of bioprocesses and synthetic biology.
New probiotics are being developed by SuperBrewed Food (previously White Dog Labs) for both humans and animals.
The National Science Foundation and Invest Nebraska are two of SuperBrewed Food's investors. On November 30, 2018, SuperBrewed Food completed its latest round of fundraising.
12- EntheogiX Biosciences
Year Founded- 2019
Location- Wilmington, DE
CEO- Glenn Short
Entheogenix Biosciences is a biotech startup that is committed to expanding psychedelic research in order to create better treatments for mental health conditions like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression.
Entheogenix seeks to extract novel drugs from desirable psychedelics to better assist patients by utilizing the creative potential of artificial intelligence, computational biophysics, and a data-driven pipeline.
13- Virion Therapeutics
Year Founded- 2018
Location- Newark, DE
CEO- Andrew D. Luber
Virion Therapeutics is creating novel immune-based therapies for malignancies with viral ties and persistent viral infections. Their vaccines, ChiVax and ChiVax-gD, represent cutting-edge and highly efficient platforms to elicit powerful and prolonged T cell-mediated immune responses against altered or infected cells, thus targeting prevalent diseases with unmet medical needs.
There are 7 investors in Virion Therapeutics, including Mid Atlantic Bio Angels and Robin Hood Ventures. On August 24, 2020, Virion Therapeutics completed its latest round of fundraising.
14- Napigen
Year Founded- 2016
Location- Wilmington, DE
CEO- Dr. Hajime Sakai
NAPIGEN is a biotech startup that addresses novel genome engineering of different organisms, including plants, microorganisms, and mammals.
There are 6 investors in Napigen, including UMDF and RA Capital Management.On July 12, 2022, Napigen completed its latest investment round.
15- Prelude Therapeutics
Year Founded- 2016
Location- Wilmington, DE
CEO- Brian Piper
Prelude Therapeutics is developing a pipeline of novel, orally bioavailable, small-molecule therapies that target intervention points in resistance pathways of cancer cells.
The two investors in Prelude Therapeutics are OrbiMed and Fidelity Management and Research Company.On August 24, 2020, Prelude Therapeutics completed its latest round of fundraising.
Scispot has become the go-to operating system for biostartups in Delaware. Scispot combines the critical functionalities of electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) and lab information management systems (LIMS) into one user-intuitive platform and helps biostartups accelerate their R&D and bring their scientific breakthroughs to market faster.
Request a demo to learn how you can accelerate your research using Scispot.
