Poland's biotech sector has grown considerably in the last decade. While the nation's pharmaceutical sector has historically concentrated on creating generic medications, several of these businesses have begun shifting their attention to creating biologic medications.
While all is going on, Polish biotech entrepreneurs are hard at work creating brand-new technologies, emphasizing human health in cancer and autoimmune disease therapies.
More academics and businesspeople are being inspired to make the plunge and launch a biostartup in Poland's emerging bioeconomy as the nation witnesses success stories in its biotech sector.
Here, we've chosen 20 biostartups and scaleups making their mark in Poland.
1- PROTEON PHARMACEUTICALS
Chief Executive Officer: Jaroslaw Dastych
Founded: 2005
Proteon Pharmaceuticals is a pioneering biopharma firm located in Poland. Proteon employs precision biology to safeguard the microbiome, enhance environmental sustainability, and reduce the overuse of antibiotics while improving animal and human health.
On August 10, 2021, Proteon Pharmaceuticals closed its recent round of funding. The Montis Capital Group and Nutreco are the most prominent investors in this biotech company.
2- MABION
Chief Executive Officer: Krzysztof Kaczmarczyk
Founded: 2007
Mabion was one of the first biotech businesses to be established in Poland, and it is situated in a modest industrial town. Mabion creates biosimilar antibody medicines and provides contract manufacturing services.
The company's most advanced initiative is a biosimilar of Roche's rituximab, an antibody used to treat blood cancer and arthritis. This drug is currently through phase 3 studies. As part of their partnership with the American company researching vaccines, Novavax, Mabion is also creating vaccine antigens.
3- MOLECURE
Chief Executive Officer: Marcin Jan Szumowski
Founded: 2012
Molecure is a biotech company that specializes in creating and marketing therapeutics for inflammatory and neoplastic illnesses.
On March 8, 2017, Molecure finalized its most recent investment round (Series A). The most notable investors in this biotech company are Micha Soowow and New Europe Ventures, LLC.
4- RYVU
Chief Executive Officer: Pawel Przewiezlikowski
Founded: 2007
Ryvu is a biopharmaceutical startup that is working to solve the clinical drawbacks of existing oncology treatments with small molecule therapeutics.
On August 17, 2022, Ryvu completed its recent funding round, which was a Post-IPO Debt transaction. The European Investment Bank and the National Center for Research & Development are two significant investors in this biotech company.
5- SCOPE FLUIDICS
Chief Executive Officer: Piotr Garstecki
Founded: 2010
Scope Fluidics is a biotech company that creates innovative solutions based on microfluidic technologies in the fields of healthcare and diagnostics. The firm collaborates with academia and combines the perspectives of business and medicine to create novel solutions for a large market.
On November 23, 2020, Scope Fluidics closed its recent post-IPO equity round. The National Center for Research & Development and the European Investment Bank are the two most notable investors in this biotech company.
6- NAPIFERYN BIOTECH
Chief Executive Officer: Magdalena Koz~Cowska
Founded: 2014
NapiFeryn BioTech is a food biotech startup and it holds a patent for the process of manufacturing protein isolates from oil plant seeds, primarily from rapeseed.
On August 6, 2020, NapiFeryn BioTech completed its recent grant funding round. EIT Food (European Institute of Innovation and Technology Food) and EASME (EU Executive Agency for SMEs) are two of the most noteworthy investors in this biotech company.
7- BOWIL BIOTECH
Founded: 2006
Biocellulose is produced on a large scale by Bowil Biotech using bacterial fermentation. Today, the business offers biocellulose face masks and wound dressings for sale. Heart prostheses, analgesic dressings, contact lenses, and high-strength paper are just a few of the numerous other uses that are now being studied.
8- PURE BIOLOGICS
Chief Executive Officer: Filip Jelen
Founded: 2010
Pure Biologics is a biopharmaceutical company focused on biological drug and non-systemic therapies discovery and development. This biotech scaleup operates in the areas of immuno-oncology, autoimmunology, and rare neurological diseases, conducting research based on their technology platforms for the selection of active molecules – antibodies and aptamers.
Pure Biologics also offers commercial partnership and contract research options in several areas including early phase biological drug discovery and development, selection and characterization of antibodies and aptamers, as well as protein production, purification, and analysis.
On August 21, 2019, Pure Biologics announced that it had completed its most recent investment round. National Center for Research and Development is a notable investor in this growing biotech.
9- NANO VELOS
Founded: 2013
NanoVelos, a division of Warsaw University of Technology, is creating nanoparticles to deliver cancer medications. The dextran-based nanoparticles are constructed to only release the medications they contain inside a cancer cell, enhancing the drug's effectiveness while minimizing the risk of side effects. The technology is currently in the preclinical stages of development, with some studies concentrating on improving generic versions of already available medications.
Giza Polish Ventures provides funding for NanoVelos (GPV).
10- POLTREG
Chief Executive Officer: Piotr Trzonkowski
Founded: 2015
PolTREG is a biotech startup, a spin-off from the Medical University of Gdańsk, developing therapies using T-regulator cells (TREGS) at an advanced clinical stage, targeting unmet.
On July 1, 2016, PolTREG announced its recent grant funding round. Notable investors include EASME (EU Executive Agency for SMEs) and INNOventure.
11- ARDIGEN
Chief Executive Officer: Janusz Homa
Founded: 2015
Ardigen is a biostartup that is utilizing AI techniques for precision medicine by developing immunity, deciphering microbiomes, examining biological imaging, and offering digital drug discovery services, the company hastens the creation of therapies.
12- INPHARMICA
Chairman: Szczepan Adamaski
Founded: 2015
Inpharmica is a biostartup, headquartered in Warsaw, that provides clinical trial services to track the negative effects of painkillers.
Inpharmica completed its seed funding on December 18, 2015. Black Pearls VC is a notable investor in this biostartup.
13- SELVITA
Chief Executive Officer: Boguslaw Sieczkowski
Founded: 2007
Selvita is an integrated contract research organization (CRO). This growing CRO is on a mission to bridge the gap between early drug discovery and the clinical stage of drug development.
On March 31, 2008, Selvita acquired BioCentrum, a Kraków-based CRO startup.
14- HIPROMINE
Chief Executive Officer: Damian Jozefiak
Founded: 2015
HiProMine is a provider of alternative protein sources across all of Europe. It produces its products using proprietary insect breeding technology. By introducing an alternative to the traditional invertebrate protein, this biotech supplier pursue is on a mission to reduce food waste and limit environmental degradation.
On April 27, 2016, HiProMine completed its recent round of funding. The funding for HiProMine originates from Giza Polish Ventures.
15- INTO DNA
Chief Executive Officer: Magda Kordon-Kiszala
Founded: 2017
IntoDNA is a biotech startup that uses its unique STRIDE technology to provide an end-to-end DNA break detection method. It is a cutting-edge technique that excels in sensitivity and offers a trustworthy assessment of DNA damage at the level of a single lesion.
16- GENEGOGGLE
Chief Executive Officer: Jakub Mieczkowski
Founded: 2018
Genegoggle is a biotech startup that seeks to use multidimensional genomic and epigenetic information to develop breakthrough treatments and intelligent systems that will enhance human health.
On September 15, 2021, Genegoggle completed its seed funding round, which started with a Seed round.
Illumina Accelerator has funded Genegoggle.
17- DEBN
Chief Executive Officer: Marcin Sieczkowski
Founded: 2017
DEBN is a biotech startup that is developing an innovative prostate biopsy needle for urologists called DEBN (Drug-Eluting Biopsy Needle) that will lower the rate of infectious complications.
The ideal antibiotic combination is delivered by a prostate biopsy needle right to the prostate, where possible infections are most likely to begin. A more potent antibiotic that is not permitted for oral prophylaxis may be used with this application approach.
On May 15, 2019, DEBN completed its most recent round of investment from a Non-equity Assistance round.
MassChallenge and Alfabeat are two of DEBN's investors.
18- BIOTON
Chief Executive Officer: Michal Deptuch
Founded: 1989
Bioton SA is a publicly traded, biotech company with its headquarters in Poland. Diabetes is the primary treatment focus for the organization. The business sells metformin and glimepiride, two oral hypoglycemic medications, together with recombinant human insulin for injection.
On July 1, 2015, Bioton completed its final round of private equity funding.
CEE Equity Partners provides funding for Bioton.
19- CELON PHARMA
Chief Executive Officer: Dr. Maciej Wieczorek
Founded: 2002
Celon Pharma SA is a biotech company that conducts cutting-edge scientific research and develops modern medicines. Furthermore, the company markets its own goods successfully.
20- CAPTOR THERAPEUTICS
Chief Executive Officer: Tom Shepherd
Founded: 2017
Captor Therapeutics is a biotech startup that specializes in creating anti-protein degradation medications for cancer and autoimmune disorders.
Scispot is becoming the go-to operating platform for biostartups in Poland. 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 and automate lab workflows using Scispot.
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