Bainan Biotech has been accepted in the BII Creation House program. The start-up was founded in 2018 and since then, they have been part of the BII program, Business Acceleration Academy and have received the BII Proof of Concept grant. With the Creation House convertible loan of DKK 10M, the team is now ready to accelerate the commercialization.
The start-up is targeting patients below the age of 25 years with osteoporosis. The science builds on research from University of Copenhagen by co-founders Mette Rosenkilde, Professor and Medical Doctor and Bolette Hartmann, Associate Professor and Ph.D., as well as Jens Juul Holst, Professor and Medical Doctor. In 2019, Novo Seeds awarded University of Copenhagen a PreSeed grant to further develop the technology, that Bainan Biotech is built on.
The scientific team has found a novel approach to treating osteoporosis using the body’s natural hormone responses. The company is developing a first-in-class GIP/GLP-2 dual agonists to strengthen bones by both inhibiting bone resorption and increasing bone formation.
“The approach of using intestinal hormones in treating osteoporosis is quite unique. We are currently working on strengthening the response to the treatment and have seen an effect on biomarkers”, says Tue Emborg, Medical Doctor and CEO of Bainan Biotech.
The start-up will be working with young Cerebral Palsy patients who are currently treated with drugs that break the natural development of the bones from an early age. By boosting the gut bone axis, Bainan Biotech expects to increase bone strength in these patients as an alternative to the current treatment.
“Bainan Biotech has developed and grown tremendously during their journey at BII. With their novel and strong science combined with their strengthened business plan and market model, they have identified an indication in a space that is relevant and with a meaningful market potential. The team has been upgraded with Kristian Tage Hansen who is experienced in drug development and with this set-up, our expectations for Bainan Biotech are enormous”, says Hervør Lykke Olsen, Senior Scientific Business Developer at BII.
In the past year, the focus of the company has been to form a team that can drive the commercialization. Today, it consists of CEO Tue Emborg, CTO Ditte Riber, CDO Kristian T. Hansen and COO Joakim Sørensen who combined are experienced in both entrepreneurial and corporate settings.
“We applied for the Creation House program to build a commercial machine on top of our science. We have been focused on basic research projects and now our activities are heading towards drug development. BioInnovation Institute’s Creation House Program is a really good opportunity to make this turn”, says Tue Emborg.
Read more about Bainan Biotech.
Meet the other four start-ups in this batch of Creation House companies:
First bioindustrial start-up enters Creation House
BII welcomes CRISPR start-up in Creation House
Ciana Therapeutics, a Zealand Pharma spin-out enters BII
ALS start-up funded by BII